Category: News This Week

  • Tobacco study in Qatar

    Tobacco study in Qatar

    Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Tobacco Control Center has begun the fieldwork for a study that aims to examine knowledge, attitudes and practices related to tobacco use in Qatar, according to a story in The Gulf Times.

    The study, which is thought to be the most comprehensive investigation of its type in the country, will seek input from Qatari citizens and non-Qatari residents, smokers and non-smokers, males and females.

    Employees of ministries, government organizations, media outlets, including Al Jazeera and Qatar TV, healthcare workers, and university students are among those being targeted by researchers.

    Dr. Ahmad al-Mulla, head of the HMC Tobacco Control Center, said the study had been endorsed by HMC’s Medical Research Center.

    He said the main goal of the study was to gather data on the prevalence of smoking and tobacco use among those aged 18 and above, and information on the consumption rates of various tobacco products and paraphernalia, including cigarettes, shisha, sweika (chewing tobacco), pipes, cigars, electronic cigarettes, and electronic shisha.

    Researchers will seek input from those who have tried to quit smoking, and will investigate which quit methods are most effective.

    The study will address also the relationship between tobacco use and tobacco product advertisements.

    Dr al-Mulla said a number of related topics, including opinions on second-hand smoke and the impact of a recent rise in prices of tobacco products would be examined also.

    The results of the study, which is expected to involve as many as 6,000 participants, will be released later this year and will be used to inform government policies and tobacco control public health initiatives.

  • E-cig education sought

    E-cig education sought

    Vaping groups in the Philippines have urged the Department of Health (DOH) to educate smokers about alternative products, such as electronic cigarettes, to help them quit smoking, according to a story in The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

    The appeal was made by The Vapers Philippines (TVP) and the Philippine E-cigarette Industry Association after Public Health England published new evidence on vaping.

    “We call on the DOH and local health care professionals to look at the latest evidence on vaping from England, a country which is experiencing tremendous success in reducing adult smoking rates,” Peter Paul Dator, the president of TVP, was quoted as saying.

    Dator lauded public health officials in the country for doing a good job in raising public awareness about the health risks associated with smoking.

    “Unfortunately, their efforts stop there,” he said. “The public should also be educated about alternative products that can help smokers quit.”

  • A difficult question

    A difficult question

    A US public health expert has made the point that people – young people in this case – who vape are not tobacco users. They are vapers.

    Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, was responding to a press release issued by city attorney Dennis Herrera and supervisor Shamann Walton announcing the introduction of legislation to ban the sale of all electronic cigarettes in the city of San Francisco.

    In part, Siegel’s point-by-point response to the press release focuses on the seemingly strange disconnect between the way that e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes are viewed by legislators.

    This is the second point of the press release that Siegel addressed:

    “San Francisco has never been afraid to lead,” Herrera said, “and we’re certainly not afraid to do so when the health and lives of our children are at stake.”

    And this is what Siegel had to say:

    ‘San Francisco is apparently afraid to lead because they are willing to take the politically expedient step of requiring safety testing for e-cigarettes, but they are not willing to place the same requirement on real cigarettes. In fact, tobacco cigarettes have already had their safety testing and they failed miserably. If San Francisco wants to lead, then why isn’t it taking cigarettes off the shelves?’

    Siegel’s The Rest of the Story blog is here.

  • Hyperbole epidemic

    Hyperbole epidemic

    US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and departing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, penned an op-ed in The Washington Post last week warning of a regulatory crackdown on the electronic cigarette industry if teen use didn’t decline, according to a story by Tal Axelrod published at thehill.com.

    Gottlieb, who announced his resignation earlier this month, has repeatedly raised concerns about teenage use of e-cigarettes. And the FDA threatened earlier this year to take these products off the market if vaping rates didn’t drop in the coming months.

    ‘The e-cigarette craze among teenagers has become an epidemic,’ the two wrote in the joint op-ed.

    ‘We agree with those who believe that e-cigarettes may offer a lower-risk alternative for adult smokers who still want access to nicotine. But the continued availability of this opportunity to adults is being endangered by the e-cigarette industry’s slowness to address the dangers its products pose to teens.

    ‘While we pursue changes to regulatory policy, we call on the industry – manufacturers and retailers – to step up with meaningful measures to reduce the access and appeal of e-cigarettes to young people.’

  • Rights polluted

    Rights polluted

    Halting the spread of the tobacco ‘epidemic’ worldwide would align with a human right that global leaders should recognise and act upon, according to a story by Sarantis Michalopoulos for euractiv.com quoting public health activists.

    “The tobacco industry floods countries with an addictive and lethal product, cigarettes, which kill over seven million people per year,” said Laurent Huber, director of US Action on Smoking & Health (ASH), talking ahead of two anti-tobacco conferences in Bucharest, Romania.

    “For this reason, the global health community and some human rights agencies recognise that the tobacco industry violates the rights to life and health and undermines many other rights including children’s rights and women[‘s] rights.”

    A Global Forum on Human Rights and a Tobacco-Free World was due to be held today in Romania by the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and ASH. It was to be hosted by the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

    In addition, on March 27-29, ENSP is due to hold its 4th International Conference on Tobacco Control, together with the Romanian Society of Pneumology.

    Both conferences were said to be aimed at bringing together global leaders in health and human rights in order to co-ordinate the fight against tobacco and upgrade it to the level of a human right.

    ‘The nexus between tobacco control and recognised human rights is clear, particularly in the case of the rights to health and life recognised in numerous human rights treaties and national constitutions, but encompassing many other rights as well,’ the organisers reportedly said in a statement.

    “Human rights norms and obligations can be powerful tools to combat tobacco industry interference in policy-making and litigation.’

  • Andorra raises price issue

    Andorra raises price issue

    A French member of the EU Parliament has asked the Commission if the Association Agreement between the European Union and Andorra will enable tobacco-product prices to be aligned.

    In a preamble to two questions, Philippe Juvin said that March 18, 2015, had seen the start of official negotiations between the EU on the one hand and Andorra, Monaco and San Marino on the other, with the aim of deepening their relations.

    ‘The resulting agreement will enable the three states and their economic operators to participate in the European internal market by removing the barriers currently hampering their trade,’ he said.

    ‘In the light of the Council Conclusions of 3 December 2018, the EU “is fully committed, and stands ready to work towards finalising the discussions on the framework of the Agreement by spring 2019”.

    ‘According to our information, the agreement currently being negotiated, as far as the Protocol on Andorra is concerned, will include elements aimed at resolving the issue of tobacco prices, which gives rise to a large amount of traffic at the borders.’

    Juvin then asked:

    ‘Would the Commission kindly explain to us what the provision in the Protocol is which will enable this issue to be resolved?

    ‘Will this provision enable tobacco prices to be aligned?’

    The Commission is due to answer the questions in writing.

  • Crop down “significantly”

    Crop down “significantly”

    Zimbabwe is likely to suffer a “significant” fall in flue-cured tobacco output this year in the wake of cyclone Idai, according to a story in The Chronicle quoting the CEO of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), Dr Andrew Matibiri.

    The cyclone was said to have struck most parts of the provinces of Manicaland and Mashonaland East.

    Matibiri said an assessment was underway to establish the damage that had been caused.

    But it was known that a lot of farmers in Manicaland and parts of Mashonaland East had lost tobacco in the field, and that about 550 flue-cured barns had collapsed.

    “As a result of the adverse effects of the calamity, there is going to be a significant decline of tobacco output this year,” Matibiri said. “We are yet to account how much we are likely to lose as a result of the disaster.”

    The Chronicle story said that last year Zimbabwe had produced a record flue-cured tobacco crop of 253 million kg.

    This year’s tobacco selling season had been opened by Vice President Kembo Mohadi on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, a story in The Sunday Mail had it that tobacco sales were expected to pick up at tobacco auction floors from today after the Government scrapped, with immediate effect, a two percent Intermediated Money Transfer Tax on tobacco sales and confirmed that farmers would get half of their earnings in US dollars.

    Sales had been slow since the opening of the floors with some farmers reportedly holding on to their tobacco because of dissatisfaction with the prices being offered.

  • Creditor protection granted

    Creditor protection granted

    Philip Morris International’s Canadian subsidiary, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) has obtained an initial order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granting it protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

    In a note posted on its website, PMI said that RBH had said that obtaining creditor protection became necessary following recent developments in two class action proceedings in Québec against RBH, Imperial Tobacco Canada, and JTI-Macdonald.

    PMI listed the key elements and impact of RBH’s decision to file for protection:

    • ‘The initial order includes a comprehensive stay of all tobacco-related litigation pending in Canada against RBH and PMI, thus providing an efficient forum for RBH to seek resolution of all such litigation.
    • ‘The CCAA process allows RBH to carry on its business in the ordinary course with minimal disruption to its customers, suppliers and employees.
    • ‘As a result of the filing, and under US GAAP, PMI will deconsolidate RBH from its financial statements, resulting in an estimated one-time non-cash charge of approximately $0.10 per share, as described below.
    • ‘While it remains under creditor protection, RBH does not anticipate paying dividends. As RBH has not paid dividends since the trial court’s judgment in May 2015, the deconsolidation will not have an impact on PMI’s current annualized dividend rate.’

    PMI said that, as a result of the deconsolidation of RBH, PMI was revising its full-year 2019 reported diluted earnings per share forecast to be at least $4.90 at prevailing exchange rates. This full-year guidance, it said, reflected:

    • ‘The current estimated one-time net impact of the deconsolidation of RBH under US GAAP of approximately $0.10 per share, to be recorded in the first quarter of 2019, which is a non-cash item, plus the tobacco litigation-related charge of approximately $0.09 per share announced on March 4, 2019; and
    • ‘The exclusion of RBH’s previously anticipated earnings from PMI’s consolidated financial statements from the date of deconsolidation to December 31, 2019, of approximately $0.28 per share.’
  • FDA final guidance

    FDA final guidance

    US vape shops that modify a product so that it is deemed by the US Food and Drug Administration to be a ‘new tobacco product’ are required to comply with the agency’s premarket authorization requirements, according to a final FDA guidance.

    In a note issued through its Center for Tobacco Products, the FDA said it had posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing the publication of the final guidance, Interpretation of and Compliance Policy for Certain Label Requirement; Applicability of Certain Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Requirements to Vape Shops. This guidance was said to finalize the draft guidance of the same title, which was available for public comment on January 17, 2017.

    ‘Under section 903(a)(2)(C) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [FD&C], a tobacco product in package form is misbranded if its label does not include an accurate statement of the percentage of tobacco used in the product that is foreign-grown and domestic-grown,’ the note said. ‘This guidance clarifies FDA’s interpretation of this as applying only to tobacco products that are made or derived from tobacco. Tobacco products (such as components, parts, and accessories) that are not made or derived from tobacco would not be required to bear the statement.

    ‘Additionally, at this time, FDA does not intend to enforce this requirement for certain products, including tobacco-derived liquid nicotine, e-liquid made or derived from tobacco, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco. FDA is providing this compliance policy as the agency recognizes the current scientific and technical difficulties of quantifying the percentage of foreign and domestic tobacco used in these products.

    ‘The guidance also clarifies [that] vape shops that are tobacco product manufacturers are subject to the requirements in section 904(a) and (c) of the FD&C Act, including the requirements to provide ingredient listings, report harmful and potentially harmful constituents, and submit health documents. Those vape shops that modify a product so that it is a new tobacco product are required to comply with the premarket authorization requirements. Vape shops that are engaged in the manufacture, preparation, compounding, or processing of tobacco products are required to comply with the establishment registration and product listing requirements in section 905 of the FD&C Act.

    ‘The final guidance explains certain activities which modify a product, and which would subject the vape shop to the requirements of the Act that apply to manufacturers and includes a compliance policy for limited circumstances for which FDA does not intend to enforce these requirements…’

  • Pregnant finding

    Pregnant finding

    Researchers at the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, say that tobacco smokers who become pregnant cannot protect their fetuses sufficiently by undertaking a quit-tobacco-smoking course, according to a story by Stephen Gadd for The Copenhagen Post.

    “When a pregnant woman uses nicotine chewing-gum or any other form of nicotine substitute in connection with stopping smoking, she risks damaging her fetus as much as if she’d continued to smoke,” associate professor and brain researcher Jesper Tobias Andreasen, was said to have told BT tabloid.

    The negative effects were said to be caused by nicotine’s reducing the flow of blood through the placenta leading to the fetus not receiving enough oxygen to the brain. This could cause conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, depression and addictive tendencies later in life.

    Andreasen points out that a ‘stop smoking’ course is all very well but the only safe way to do it is to go ‘cold turkey’ – without any form of nicotine substitutes.

    Vaping was said also to present a risk to the fetus because the levels of nicotine in the liquids used contained ‘very variable amounts and often more than normal cigarettes’.

    Up to now, the Copenhagen research has been carried out on mice. But Andreasen said that it was known “from extensive studies that people who have been exposed to nicotine in the womb show a higher propensity to ADHD, anxiety, depression and drug abuse”.

    The researchers say they intend to publish their findings in a scientific journal within the next couple of months.