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A black mark againt black market cigarettes over health  

ADDICTS of black-market tobacco are more likely to have bad lungs and other ills than other smokers, a study says.

"Chop-chop" smokers widely believe it's healthier because it lacks chemicals in licit cigarettes.

"We now have a fairly good indication that that's really not the case," says Dr Campbell Aitken, from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne.

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Blackmarket tobacco 'more damaging' 

PEOPLE addicted to black market tobacco are more likely to have bad lungs and other physical ills than those whose smoke the legal variety, a new study shows.

Smokers of so-called chop-chop widely believe the unbranded loose tobacco is "healthier" because it does not contain the same chemicals as commercial cigarettes.

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Graphic ad joins the quit campaign 

As another graphic quit-smoking commercial hits television screens across NSW, the state government says higher tobacco taxes would make smoking even "more difficult".

At the launch of the new advertising campaign in Sydney on Saturday, NSW Assistant Health Minister Verity Firth said tobacco tax was a federal government issue and not something the state could control.

However, she said, higher taxes on cigarettes was something she would gladly discuss with her federal counterparts and, when pressed, said a tax hike would have positive outcomes.

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CHAPMAN: Licensing smokers a healthy option 

YOU need a licence to drive. A licence to buy a gun. You can't legally go fishing without a licence, or own a dog. But smoking?

Provided you are over 18 you can buy as many cigarettes as you like - no questions asked. Why not license smokers?

After all, doctors issue tens of thousands of temporary licences every day in the form of prescriptions . . .

And, just as for a driving licence, smokers would need to renew their commitment to smoking every five years. Or, if a smoker successfully quit they could permanently surrender their licence and be offered a full refund of their licensing fee, another incentive to quit.

Most smokers want to quit. . . .

Even tobacco companies should love the idea because no one could sue, saying they didn't know the risks they were taking: they would have passed the test.

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Graphic ad joins the quit campaign  

At the launch of the new advertising campaign in Sydney on Saturday, NSW Assistant Health Minister Verity Firth said tobacco tax was a federal government issue and not something the state could control.

However, she said, higher taxes on cigarettes was something she would gladly discuss with her federal counterparts and, when pressed, said a tax hike would have positive outcomes.

"I don't want to put words into the federal government's mouth, but we do believe that the more expensive cigarettes are, the more difficult it is to smoke," Ms Firth told reporters in Sydney when asked her thoughts of the impact of higher taxes on smokers.

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Watch out, Big Sister is looking 

DRAWING on the weirdest British concept since Rick Astley, Health Minister Nicola Roxon has mooted "innovative options" to curb smoking.

The answer, she says, may rest in permits for smokers.

Under the British blueprint, which newspaper columnists there lambasted for being daft and paternalistic, permits would demand a mug shot and annual fees.

The application process would be deliberately painful, causing some smokers to give up trying to get a permit, thereby giving up cigarettes - and, presumably, any desire to exert free will except within government guidelines. . . .

But why stop with smoking? Imagine the intrigues of a Saturday afternoon trip to the shops if similar approaches were adopted for other vices.

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• Tobacco and Aboriginal people in NSW 

Tobacco use is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for Aboriginal people in NSW. Few interventions to reduce the harm resulting from tobacco use have been developed specifically for this population. However, brief interventions for smoking cessation, pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion and varenicline, quit groups and interventions aimed at reducing smoking by pregnant women and hospital inpatients are likely to be effective. Broader population interventions such as anti-tobacco advertising, price rises for tobacco products and prevention of sales to minors are also likely to be effective in reducing the harm resulting from tobacco use. . . .

Conclusion

There has been little research and evaluation of anti-tobacco interventions for Aboriginal people, and limited population-specific service delivery in tobacco control in NSW. The implementation of Smokecheck, a program designed to train health professionals working with Aboriginal smokers, is encouraging. While the role of specialist tobacco workers in Aboriginal communities requires evaluation, access to mainstream specialist tobacco workers and pharmacotherapies to assist cessation is important. Broader population health measures such as advertising campaigns and restrictions on smoking in public places are also likely to reduce the harm resulting from tobacco to Aboriginal people in NSW.

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Fewer smoking due to smoke-free venues (AAP) 

A large number of people have quit or reduced smoking since Victorian bars and clubs were made smoke-free, according to Cancer Council Victoria data.

Hospitality venues in the state were made smoke-free on July 1 last year.

In a Cancer Council survey of 1250 people, four out of ten recent quitters stated smoke-free venues had helped them quit.

A third reported they had reduced the amount they smoked following the introduction of the legislation.

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Proposed smoking ban overturned  

A POLICY to ban smoking in outdoor areas in Inverell has been overturned by Inverell Shire Council. The NSW Cancer Council provided council with information on making some areas smoke-free.

But councillors agreed to take no action on the policy, which included banning smoking in all children’s playgrounds, around all council playing fields, sporting grounds and at outdoor sporting facilities

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Smoking ban takes puff out of deadly habit 

A YEAR of smoking bans in Victorian bars and clubs has seen droves of smokers turning their backs on the deadly habit.

With the first anniversary of the smoking bans tomorrow, research shows four out of 10 recent quitters did so because they could no longer light up in licensed venues.

A Cancer Council Victoria audit of the bans shows they are having the greatest impact on young smokers, with 45 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds cutting back on smoking since July 1 last year.

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Smoking ban takes puff out of deadly habit 

A YEAR of smoking bans in Victorian bars and clubs has seen droves of smokers turning their backs on the deadly habit.

With the first anniversary of the smoking bans tomorrow, research shows four out of 10 recent quitters did so because they could no longer light up in licensed venues.

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Transit officers assaulted by trio 

Three men have been arrested following an incident in which two transit officers were assaulted after asking a man to put out a cigarette at a Brisbane train station.

The officers were on duty at the Indooroopilly railway station on Sunday when a 33-year-old woman and two men, aged 41 and 61, entered the station about 5pm (AEST), police said.

The three were causing a disturbance, and one of the men was smoking in a non-smoking zone, police said.

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Smoking ban takes puff out of deadly habit 

A YEAR of smoking bans in Victorian bars and clubs has seen droves of smokers turning their backs on the deadly habit.

With the first anniversary of the smoking bans tomorrow, research shows four out of 10 recent quitters did so because they could no longer light up in licensed venues.

A Cancer Council Victoria audit of the bans shows they are having the greatest impact on young smokers, with 45 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds cutting back on smoking since July 1 last year.

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Pregnant teens smoking shock  

ALMOST half of all pregnant teenagers in Queensland continue to smoke during their pregnancy, new statistics reveal. The Cancer Council is horrified.

And across all age groups in the state, more than 20 per cent of pregnant women continue to smoke throughout pregnancy - higher than the national average.

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Fewer Victorians smoking after bar ban: report  

A large number of people have quit or reduced smoking since Victorian bars and clubs were made smokefree, according to Cancer Council Victoria data.

Hospitality venues in the state were made smokefree on July 1 last year.

In a Cancer Council survey of 1250 people, four out of ten recent quitters stated smokefree venues had helped them quit.

A third reported they had reduced the amount they smoked following the introduction of the legislation.

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