U.S. News US: Anti-smoking advocate is named to health post U.S. House Acts to Protect Kids, Save Lives by Increasing Federal Tobacco Taxes

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1 EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN January 2009 Produced by the European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP) National Tobacco Control News GREECE: Parliament to lead the way with smoking ban NORTHERN IRELAND: Skin Cancer Ups new cancer Risk POLAND: Government tries to block EU excise hike on tobacco SCOTLAND: Quarter of Shops break laws by selling cigarettes to children SPAIN: Philip Morris Intl raises Prices Institutional News EC: Call for tender: Health warnings for tobacco packages EP: Oral question by Avril Doyle to the Council on tobacco control Reports/Research/Conferences STUDY: Smoking during Pregnancy may Impair Thyroid Function of mother and fetus STUDY: Cigarette Smoking and perception of a movie character in a film trailer STUDY: Discovery hints at pill to curb smoking damage U.S. News US: Anti-smoking advocate is named to health post U.S. House Acts to Protect Kids, Save Lives by Increasing Federal Tobacco Taxes National Tobacco Control News GREECE: Parliament to lead the way with smoking ban In a bid to set an example for diehard Greek smokers who will be obliged to curb their habit in all public places as of July 1, Parliament Speaker Dimitris Sioufas declared that a smoking ban would come into force in Parliament by the end of this month. Sioufas, reportedly a heavy smoker himself, said the ban in Parliament would apply not just to the plenary session hall but to all parts of the building, except for the canteen and club house. According to sources, smoking will be forbidden in Sioufas s office too. Sioufas is said to be optimistic, noting that other countries with a large proportion of heavy smokers have managed to enforce the European Union-dictated restrictions. The Health Ministry decided to adopt EU reforms six months ahead of the original deadline, January , as it is thought smokers will have fewer problems adapting to the measures in the summer. Source:Ekathimerini, 12 January NORTHERN IRELAND: Skin Cancer Increases new cancer Risk Experts found people treated for melanoma were more than twice as likely to develop other, unrelated cancers than the general population. The risk was also elevated - although not as much - for patients with other forms of skin cancer. "The increase in smoking-related cancers may be because smoking predisposes to skin cancer as well as other cancers or because people who smoke may be more likely to have generally unhealthy lifestyles including excessive sun exposure."

2 Sara Hiom, of Cancer Research UK, said: "We know that lifestyle factors such as excessive UV exposure, smoking, being overweight and drinking too much alcohol can increase the risk of cancer. "These important findings could help doctors target health information more accurately to people who have been treated for skin cancer to help them reduce their risk of developing a second cancer." Source: BBC Online, 7 January POLAND: Government tries to block EU excise hike on tobacco The government will oppose a planned EU directive designed to raise the excise duty on cigarettes and thin-cut tobacco, as it would result in dramatic price increases, the Finance Ministry announced. While Poland would be given an extra year to introduce the hike, the new rules would eventually raise cigarette prices by 50%, hitting sales and fuelling demand for black market sources or illegal substances, according to Krzysztof Kępiński of BAT Polska. Source: Warsaw Business Journal, 7 January SCOTLAND: Quarter of Shops break laws by selling cigarettes to children Trading standards officials are preparing a crackdown on shops selling cigarettes to children, as new figures show about one quarter are breaking the law. More than 800 shops have been subject to "test purchasing" stings by trading standards teams across the country since October 2007, when the minimum cigarettes sales age was increased from 16 to 18. The Scotsman has found that 24 per cent of those targeted sold cigarettes to youngsters. The children used in the stings were as young as 14 four years below the minimum age for sales. Source: The Scotsman, 9 January SPAIN: Philip Morris International raises Prices Philip Morris International Inc. raised cigarette prices in Spain over the weekend, a move that is likely to benefit the entire industry, a Citigroup analyst said Tuesday. A pack of Marlboros now costs 3.10 euros, an increase of 3 percent. Philip Morris International raised the prices on Saturday. "No other company has yet announced they will follow suit, but we are confident they all will," Citi analyst Adam Spielman wrote in a note to investors. Spielman said the other major international tobacco players - including British American Tobacco PLC, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and Japan Tobacco Inc. - are likely to benefit from the price hike. Spielman said Philip Morris International is likely to lose some market share but that it should make up for that loss with better margins. "We welcome the price rise, but would have rather seen more," Spielman wrote. Source: Associated Press, 13 January Institutional News EP: Oral question by Avril Doyle to the Council on tobacco control and smoking cessation. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the first international

3 health agreement signed and ratified by the European Union and all Member States except one, the Czech Republic. As the Czech Republic will be leading the discussions on the FCTC, what plans has the Czech Presidency to ratify the treaty itself? Please note that the oral question below will be answered orally by the council at the plenary session in February, which will take place from the 2nd to the 5th. There is also a mini-plenary session on the 18th and 19th of February. We will forward you the answer to this question as soon as available. Source: EP Register, 14 January 2009 EC: Subject: Call for tender: Health warnings for tobacco packages Call for tender Sanco/2008/C6/047 concerning the development and testing of combined text and picture health warnings for tobacco packages: Prior information notice. The Commission has contracted a review of the existing knowledge on tobacco labelling and the health effects of tobacco use and, on this basis, a proposal for new warning messages. The purpose of the present contract is to provide Commission services with a library of tested combined warnings (consisting of colour photographs or other images illustrating each of the revised text of the additional warnings) with a view to informing about the health consequences of tobacco, encouraging cessation and deterring smoking initiation. The specific objectives of this contract are as follows: - to develop new combined warnings consisting of at least 6 images illustrating the text of each of the around 20 revised additional warnings; - to test the effectiveness of proposed combined warnings in 27 EU Member States among smokers, potential smokers and ex-smokers of different gender, age and socio-economic status; - to produce a new set of combined warnings in a high resolution format, consisting of at least 3 images and the respective test; - to update the technical specifications for printing the combined warnings on tobacco packages; - to produce posters with combined warnings. Source: European commission DG Sanco, 9 January 2009 For more details, go to link: Reports/Research/Conferences STUDY: Smoking during Pregnancy may Impair Thyroid Function of mother and fetus Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is associated with potentially harmful changes in both maternal and fetal thyroid function, according to a new study. "We studied the influence of cigarette smoking on thyroid function of two groups of women at different stages of pregnancy - one in the first trimester and the other in the third trimester," said Dr. Bijay Vaidya, Ph.D., of Peninsula Medical School at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in the United Kingdom, and coauthor of the study. "In both groups we found that smoking during pregnancy is associated with changes in the mothers' thyroid hormone levels." Optimal maternal thyroid function during pregnancy is vital for a successful pregnancy outcome, said Dr. Vaidya. The adverse outcomes associated with thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy include increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight and impaired neuropsychological development of the baby. Dr. Vaidya and his colleagues also measured thyroid hormone levels in the umbilical

4 cord of babies born to smoking mothers and found that smoking-related changes in thyroid function extend to the fetus. Dr. Vaidya believes that impaired thyroid function in the fetus could have potentially harmful biological consequences. Source: Science Daily Magazine, 13 January STUDY: Cigarette Smoking and perception of a movie character in a film trailer The study concluded that even incidental smoking in a very short film trailer might strengthen the attractiveness of smokers in youth who have already tried their first cigarettes. Source: Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medecine. 2009;163(1): Vol. 163 No. 1, pp. 3-96, January 2009, Rainer Hanewinkel STUDY: Discovery hints at pill to curb smoking damage A pill that could mitigate some of the negative health effects of smoking is a step closer to reality. Researchers have identified 28 molecules that are produced in abnormal amounts in cells lining the airways of smokers. If the levels of these molecules could be restored to that of non-smokers it might allow chronic smokers who have been unable to quit to improve their health prospects. It might also enable people to smoke without significant damage to their health. Source: New Scientist, 12 January U.S. News US: Anti-smoking advocate is named to health post President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday that he had chosen the head of a leading anti-tobacco organization to be the No. 2 official at the Department of Health and Human Services. The prospective nominee, William V. Corr, is executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit group that seeks to reduce tobacco use among children and adults. Source : The New York Times, 14 January U.S. House Acts to Protect Kids, Save Lives by Increasing Federal Tobacco Taxes The U.S. House of Representatives today delivered a tremendous victory for children's health by voting to increase federal tobacco taxes, including a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax, to fund reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). By both reducing tobacco use the number one cause of preventable death in our country and expanding health care coverage, this legislation will create a healthier future for literally millions of children. We look forward to Senate approval of this legislation and its signature into law by President Obama. Source: Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

5 If you would like to inform other members about new publications or events in your organization or country, please send contributions to Sophie Van Damme This bulletin receives the financial support of the European Commission.