Category: People

  • Vaping legal but difficult

    Vaping legal but difficult

    Increasing numbers of Saudis are ditching their cigarettes and switching to vaping devices, according to a story in Arab News.

    And they are free to do so because there are no laws banning vaping in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, vapers are free to indulge their habit in public.

    But there is a catch. There are apparently no legal ways to obtain a vaping device or e-liquid.

    The Ministry of Commerce and Investment banned the sale of vaping products in September 2015.

    And Saudi law forbids the sale of such items and considers anyone bringing them in from abroad to be smuggling and, therefore, liable to be fined and have the items confiscated.

    These bans, the News said, were forcing vapers in the Kingdom to seek ‘alternative’ methods of buying supplies – alternative methods whose legality was doubtful, which was leaving vapers unsure if they were breaking the law.

    One problem for the authorities is that while neighboring countries such as the UAE have adopted similar stances towards vaping – selling the equipment is illegal but using it is fine – others, such as Bahrain, are more relaxed about vaping. So Bahrain is a prime location for smugglers sourcing vaping products.

    Many people seem to take a pragmatic view of the situation. Those who spoke to the News called for vaping products to be regulated. “They [vapers] will probably do it anyway,” said a local vaper. “And with Saudi Arabia’s smoking rate being as high as it is, this could be a lucrative area of investment.

    “Tax it. Double the price. Do whatever you have to do. Make it safer for everyone.”

    Saudi Arabia is said to have a high smoking rate, even though the practice is considered taboo. The Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association estimates the number of smokers is almost six million. And this figure is expected to rise to 10 million by 2020, or roughly 30 percent of the population.

  • Quitting with e-cigarettes

    Quitting with e-cigarettes

    For those wanting to quit smoking, switching to electronic cigarettes may offer better odds of success than using nicotine patches, lozenges or gum, according to a HealthDay story by Alan Mozes citing new research.

    This finding reportedly derives from a year-long study that tracked about 120 British smokers enrolled in a National Health Service smoking cessation program. Seventy-nine smokers were enrolled in an ‘e-cig group’ and given a refillable e-cigarette to use. The remaining 44 smokers were given a three-month supply of any approved nicotine replacement product they wanted.

    “In our study, smokers used e-cigarettes much like other nicotine replacement treatments,” said study author Dunja Przulj, PhD, who is a research health psychologist with the Health and Lifestyles Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London. “They were asked to set a ‘quit day,’ and advised to use their e-cigarette regularly throughout the day, and whenever they felt they needed it. Everyone was encouraged to try and avoid smoking any normal cigarettes.”

    The researchers found that while nearly 10 percent of the nicotine replacement group were not smoking traditional cigarettes a year later, that figure was 18 percent among those using e-cigarettes.

    The report was published online on January 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

    The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Cancer Research UK.

    A Reuters story by Kate Kelland that seems to be based on the same study, or perhaps a related study, was carried out with 886 participants.

  • Paris off the smoking map

    Paris off the smoking map

    France’s national health body, Santé Publique France, has published a map of smoking patterns across the country revealing some unexpected regional findings, according to a story in The Local France.

    For example, Parisians are the least likely to take up smoking. About 21 percent of people living in the greater Paris region of Ile-de France are smokers, the lowest rate in the country, and it is followed by the regions of Pays de La Loire, in second place with 23 percent, and Normandy, in third place with 25.6 percent.

    By contrast, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in the south east, smokers make up 32 percent of the population.

    That makes people from Marseilles and their coastal counterparts the heaviest smokers in France.

    And while Normandy overall had a below average rate of smokers, it has, at 7.5 percent, the highest proportion of 17-year-old smokers.

    Overall, the Local reported, anti-tobacco campaigns and price hikes seemed to be convincing the French to quit smoking. The number of smokers in the country dropped by about one million to 12.2 million between 2016 and 2017.

    Santé Publique France reported also that smoking levels were linked to income and education levels.

    It said that the higher the level of wealth and education, the lower the chances of having nicotine dependency and the higher the probabilities of responding to health awareness campaigns.

  • No cigarette ban

    No cigarette ban

    Malaysia has no plans to ban cigarettes, according to a story in The Malay Mail quoting the Deputy Health Minister Dr. Lee Boon Chye.

    He was responding to questions about why the government did not ban cigarettes outright if it were serious about curbing smoking.

    Lee challenged those posing the question to name a country that had banned cigarettes.

    “Even the countries which practice dictatorship and communism could not ban cigarettes,” he said.

    “We as a country that practices democracy will not ban cigarettes as we respect the rights of the smokers.

    “However, at the same time, we also respect the rights of the non-smokers, that’s why we imposed the smoking ban instead of the cigarette ban,” he told reporters in Taiping.

    Lee said that the country’s smoking ban, which had been extended this year to take in outdoor eating areas, was not about revenue.

    And he said the regulation was still less strict than that in countries such as Singapore, which permitted smoking only in designated zones.

    The Health Ministry banned smoking at all restaurants including within their open-air areas from January 1 but is not penalizing offenders for a six-month grace period.

  • Focus on lung health

    Focus on lung health

    The World Health Organization has said that the focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 – May 32 – will be on tobacco and lung health.

    According to a note on a WHO website, the campaign is charged with increasing awareness of ‘the negative impact that tobacco has on people’s lung health, from cancer to chronic respiratory disease,’ and ‘the fundamental role lungs play for the health and well-being of all people’.

    ‘The campaign also serves as a call to action, advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and engaging stakeholders across multiple sectors in the fight for tobacco control,’ the WHO said.

    The World No Tobacco Day 2019 campaign is due to raise awareness on the:

    • risks posed by tobacco smoking and second-hand smoke exposure;
    • awareness on the particular dangers of tobacco smoking to lung health;
    • magnitude of death and illness globally from lung diseases caused by tobacco, including chronic respiratory diseases and lung cancer;
    • emerging evidence on the link between tobacco smoking and tuberculosis deaths;
    • implications of second-hand exposure for lung health of people across age groups;
    • importance of lung health to achieving overall health and well-being;
    • feasible actions and measures that key audiences, including the public and governments, can take to reduce the risks to lung health posed by tobacco.
  • Jordan ban not working

    Jordan ban not working

    Smoke shops in Jordan continue to sell electronic cigarettes despite an 18-month ban by the Ministry of Health on importing and selling these devices, according to a story in The Jordan Times.

    A spokesman for the Jordan Customs Department (JCD), Col. Emad Nseir, was said to have told the Times that the department’s anti-smuggling agents had confiscated large quantities of e-cigarettes and e-argilas, and that their efforts would continue through regular inspections.

    He said the inspectors responded to complaints from citizens informing them that the devices were still on sale despite the prohibition, and amid reports that the banned items were becoming increasingly popular among schoolchildren.

    The ban was imposed due to what the Health Ministry said was the ‘tremendous dangers’ posed to public health by e-cigarettes, which were no less harmful than regular cigarettes and which might be more harmful, according to Hatem Azrui, the Ministry’s spokesperson.

    Recently, the Iftaa [fatwa] Department issued an edict declaring e-cigarettes and e-argilas prohibited, but sales seemed to have been unaffected by the ban and the edict.

    The JCD official acknowledged that smuggling of the devices was ongoing, while a shopkeeper said demand remained high.

    The shopkeeper was said to have told the Times, on the condition of anonymity, that he had bought his merchandise from smugglers and that the business was going on as usual, except that sales assistants had to exercise caution in picking who to sell to.

    A consumer quoted by the Times said that he used e-cigarettes which had helped him quit regular cigarettes. “I consulted a physician and he assured me that the e-cigarette is less harmful than tobacco, and I trust him,” he said.

  • E-cigs lumped with tobacco

    E-cigs lumped with tobacco

    The Belarusian president has signed a decree that lumps electronic-cigarette and heat-not-burn products into the same legislative framework as that covering traditional tobacco products, according to a Belarusian Telegraph Agency story.

    Under the decree, only economic entities of Belarus will have the right to engage in activities related to the production and sale of ‘systems for tobacco use, smoking electronic systems and liquids for them’.

    The decree imposes a ban on the open display of e-liquids in shop windows and on other points-of-sale equipment.

    It places restrictions on the places where electronic-cigarette and heat-not-burn products may be sold or consumed.

    And it bans the advertising of these products and their sale to minors.

    Finally, the decree extends the list of places where smoking is completely prohibited to include common areas of residential buildings, elevators, cars carrying children up to 14, children’s playgrounds, sports camps, education institutions, underground crossings, public transport stops.

  • Traditional quitting

    Traditional quitting

    A hospital in Hong Kong is using acupuncture and counseling to help people quit smoking, according to a story by Li Bingcun for the China Daily.

    The basic course comprises six acupuncture treatments and four face-to-face counseling sessions during the first month.

    If the patient quits smoking during those first four weeks, a practitioner monitors his or her progress at 26 weeks and 52 weeks.

    If the first month’s treatment doesn’t work, patients are encouraged to continue visiting over the following year via a follow-up service, which places no limit on the number of visits that may be made.

    Li said that many smokers had turned to ‘ancient remedies’ in a last-ditch effort to quit their habit.

    More than 10,000 smokers in Hong Kong had used the smoking cessation program offered by the hospital since 2010.

    The program is reportedly Hong Kong’s first smoking-cessation program to be based on traditional Chinese medicine.

  • Tax hike sought

    Tax hike sought

    The Philippines Senator Manny Pacquiao said yesterday that his proposal to double the excise tax on cigarettes would prevent 850,000 people from taking up smoking during its first year of implementation, according to a PTV News story.

    During a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on tobacco tax bills, Pacquiao said increasing cigarette tax would also raise funds for the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

    Pacquiao said that, currently, 13 million Filipinos were smokers and 1.2 million were expected to join their ranks by 2022.

    “Most of the victims are from the youth and marginalized sectors – people who have no means of paying for the harmful effects of smoking,” he said. “We have to protect the youth from smoking, which is highly addictive.”

    Pacquiao filed Senate Bill 1599, which seeks to increase the current cigarette tax rate from PHP30 per pack to PHP60 per pack.

    He said his tax bill was supported by the Department of Health and Department of Finance, and added that President Rodrigo Duterte had approved these Departments’ backing for the bill.

    He urged the committee to approve the “very urgent measure” before the session ended next week.

  • Addressing tobacco poverty

    Addressing tobacco poverty

    The mission of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World’s Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI) is to prepare smallholder tobacco farmers for an era of significantly reduced demand for tobacco, focusing first on populations with the greatest need, according to a piece posted on the Foundation’s website.

    The initial focus will be on Malawi.

    The piece starts by admitting that growing tobacco has never lifted smallholder farmers out of poverty.

    But it then goes on to say that high-quality data and rigorous analysis can shape and inform effective, evidence-based policy creation and resource deployment to diversify economies and lessen country dependence on tobacco – better preparing farmers for the future while strengthening their countries’ economies.

    ‘The mission of the Foundation’s … ATI … is to prepare smallholder tobacco farmers for an era of significantly reduced demand for tobacco, focusing first on populations with the greatest need,’ the Foundation says. ‘The ATI will use this opportunity to facilitate the establishment of more secure income strategies for farmers and will seek to partner with a diverse set of stakeholders to ensure the success and sustainability of our strategy. ATI activities will target the following outcomes:

    1. ‘Higher and more secure income streams, improved food security status, and better overall health for smallholder farmers, their families, and their communities more broadly
    2. ‘Increased knowledge and application of cutting-edge agricultural science and technology
    3. ‘Reduced economic dependence on tobacco and increased resilience for tobacco-growing nations
    4. ‘Reduced environmental degradation due to tobacco cultivation
    5. ‘Improved nutritional quality and food security status

    ‘To achieve this, the ATI will employ a systems approach to understanding local contexts and potential points of intervention, coupled with an investment-oriented model of action. A systems-thinking approach is well suited for tackling complex development problems because it incorporates multifactor analysis and feedback loops to foster better decision-making. Focusing on investment, meanwhile, will ensure that each dollar spent is contributing to building capacity and strengthening local and national economies in a sustainable way – contributing, that is, to a better future for smallholder farmers, their families, and their communities…’

    Meanwhile, the piece singles out Malawi as being the country with a uniquely great need where the ATI will focus initially.

    According to the Foundation, a 2016 study found that only 25 percent of Malawian tobacco farmers were content with the prices they received in 2014, and about 41 percent of all tobacco farmers have considered switching to alternative crops or livelihoods. About 45percent of all tobacco farmers in Malawi are contract farmers, but no statistically significant differences between independent and contract farmers were found in price satisfaction and desire to switch.

    Farm-gate prices of tobacco in Malawi fell by 54 percent between 2012 and 2016.