Tobacco.org

• Smoking not good for the brain - study  

THE tobacco industry worked for two decades to skew research into smoking and Alzheimer's disease, to promote the wrong belief it could prevent the degenerative condition, a review of research has found.

US-based scientists have reviewed more than 40 research papers published since 1984, to highlight those with industry links which also suggested smoking could be good for the brain.

A quarter of the papers were found to have industry influence - either through direct funding or using researchers who were also consultants to the industry or who had other ties.

In many cases these relationships were not disclosed, according to the analysis, which found industry-linked papers dotted through the scientific literature up to 2003.

Professor Jurgen Gotz, from the University of Sydney's Brain & Mind Research Institute, welcomed the review . . .

The beneficial claim continues to circulate via the internet and occasionally it pops up in the mainstream press - including in a 2008 article published in the US' top selling Oprah Magazine.

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Smoking in streets could draw fine | Herald Sun 

SYDNEY councils may consider banning outdoor smoking if a similar prohibition in Victoria is deemed a success.

Frankston City Council is preparing to impose blanket bans along three busy open-air shopping strips - including opposite the train station.

Lighting up in the designated exclusion zones during the planned six-month trial could cost defiant smokers up to $110.

Frankston mayor Christine Richards said yesterday the bid to banish damaging cigarette smoke from public streets would likely upset some, but the health benefits were worth any flak.

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• Aussie experts confirm SIDS breakthrough 

An Australian-led study has confirmed a lack of serotonin was a common factor with babies who die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The breakthrough offers a "much clearer direction" in the search for a cure for the mysterious syndrome, which still claims one in 2,000 apparently healthy children.

Researcher Dr Jhodie Duncan, of the Melbourne-based Florey Neuroscience Institutes, studied cases of infant deaths from confirmed SIDS and other causes.

The SIDS babies were found to have lower levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which regulates the body's basic life-sustaining functions.

"Things like heart rate, blood pressure, sleep cycles, respiration, serotonin plays a very important role in all these things that you need to stay alive," Dr Duncan told AAP. . . .

The research also provides a new insight into another of SIDS known risk factors - women who smoke during pregnancy or smoking in a home with a newborn.

Exposure to nicotine was also known to affect serotonin levels in the body, Dr Duncan said.

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Break ban angers smokers  

SMOKERS feel like they're being picked on as employers move to ban workers nicking off for a quick cigarette.

The federal Department of Health and Ageing this week introduced a ban on employees taking regular smoking breaks and more bosses are expected to follow suit.

Many disgruntled smokers, including a 35-year-old city administration worker who refused to be named, said the move was "discriminatory". "Other people in the office stand around and have a chat whereas smokers go outside to have a cigarette," she said.

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Abbott rules out cigarette tax rise 

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott appears to have ruled out an increase in tobacco taxes to fund the coalition's new climate change policy.

The policy, likely to be signed off by the shadow ministry on Friday, could be released as early as Sunday.

The coalition reportedly is considering raising the tobacco excise to fund the policy, but Mr Abbott downplayed media reports flagging the option.

"There will be no new taxes or no increased taxes to fund our climate change policy," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

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Smokers cough up for Abbott climate policy 

AN INCREASE in tobacco taxes is one option being canvassed within the Coalition to fund its greenhouse gas abatement policy to be unveiled next week.

It is understood the revenue source will be discussed at today's meeting of the shadow cabinet which will have its first look at the policy the Opposition climate change spokesman, Greg Hunt, developed over the summer.

Under the leadership of Tony Abbott, the Coalition abandoned support for a market-based mechanism such as a carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme to reduce emissions.

These schemes are self-funding, using the revenue made by taxing polluters, whereas the ''direct action'' measures the Coalition will unveil - including tree planting and soil management - will require extraneous funds.

The tobacco tax increase will be put on the table today as one way of raising the money needed without damaging the budget bottom line or imposing an unpopular tax.

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Liberals could target smokers to pay for climate policy 

SMOKERS could be slugged with higher prices to help pay for Tony Abbott's response to Kevin Rudd's climate change policy.

The Coalition will challenge Kevin Rudd's Emissions Trading Scheme next week with its own plans to fight climate change.

One proposal is to raise the rate of tobacco excise by about 12.5 per cent, to raise billions of dollars for environmental measures. This would increase the price of cigarettes by 60c a packet.

The idea was embraced by ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull last year as he looked for revenue to oppose Labor's Budget plans to restrict access to the private health insurance rebate.

Lifting the rate of excise was also endorsed by the Government's pre

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Lift cigarette prices to $20 a packet to help tackle health funding crisis: Quit 

KEVIN Rudd is being urged to increase the price of cigarettes to $20 a packet and raise an extra $2 billion in taxes if he is serious about tackling a health funding crisis in Australia.

The Prime Minister last night outlined the looming threat of an ageing population, warning that the rising cost of health would outstrip the states' ability to raise taxes within two decades.

Quit Victoria executive director Fiona Sharkey told The Australian Online today that lifting the price of cigarettes would save lives.

"It is the single biggest thing we can do to bring smoking down. It cuts consumption and it cuts the number of people who smoke," she said.

"What the tobacco industry says is the tax is regressive and it hurts poorer people. In fact we find that low socio-economic (people) are more likely to quit.

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Quitters should go public: health expert 

Going public when quitting smoking could be the key to achieving success, a health professional says.

People are most likely to crave a cigarette when stressed or at a social event.

But confiding in others can help stave off the temptation to light up, a survey has found.

Of the 1424 Australians who took part in the November 2009 survey by research firm Stollznow, two thirds said talking to others about quitting was beneficial.

Professor Matthew Peters, who is chairman of Action on Smoking and Health Australia, said stress was a major factor in keeping some people smoking.

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Smoking diners told butt out  

SMOKERS would be banned from lighting up in alfresco dining areas under new laws proposed for cafes and restaurants.

Tasmania's leading anti-smoking group wants the state to continue its pioneering push against smoking in public places by making all dining areas - inside and outside - 100 per cent smoke-free.

On January 1, 2006, Tasmania became the first Australian state to totally prohibit smoking in all public venues serving food and alcohol.

The laws forced smokers outside, prompting concern they were now more visible on city streets and normalising the habit in the eyes of passing children.

Quit Tasmania executive director Michael Wilson said laws to ban smoking in alfresco dining areas would also cut down on the dangers of passive smoke from other venue patrons.

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LETTER: Sophie failed on tobacco payout  

YOUR editorial "Package has wrong focus" (The Border Mail, January 14) outlines actions taken by the member for Indi for a few favoured tobacco growers and then asks "What could she have done differently?"

Firstly, she could have ensured that the tobacco buy-out package was structured properly. If it had been, these growers would not have had to seek her help afterwards.

If she didn't realise that the package might create this situation when she presented it to the tobacco growers (and she should have, because this was pointed out to her), once she realised that this flaw existed, she should have lobbied to have the package reviewed. . . .

The important issue is why Mrs Mirabella gave these growers special treatment while apparently ignoring others in the same boat.

Her role should have been to support all growers who found themselves disadvantaged by the package, not a selected few.

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Alfresco smoking ban urged by cancer group  

The Cancer Council wants smoking banned from outdoor dining areas in South Australia.

Council CEO Brenda Wilson says the state is lagging behind others in the fight against smoking.

"Queensland and Western Australia and Tasmania have implemented partial bans on smoking in alfresco areas and we've asked the public through surveys and 89 per cent of the public would like smoke-free alfresco dining," she said.

The Cancer Council has put its views to the major parties ahead of the state poll in March.

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BIRMINGHAM: Break time is over for smoke blowers 

I've always worked on my own and so have only had my own disgusting habits with which to put up.

That has always left me ... well, curious, about how normal people, be they smokers or not, feel about the whole 10 O'Clock People thing. I'm guessing if you're a non-smoker you are probably mighty pissed off that these guys are getting so many breaks during the day. And if you are a smoker you're willing to defend to the death your right to smoke yourself to death while at work.

So, for once, I have nothing to say. But I am fascinated to hear what those of you who have real jobs actually think of the prospect of the cigarette break finally getting the arse.

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KELLY: Smokers aren't the same as criminals 

The Department of Health ban on employees taking a cigarette break outside denies all public service precepts of merit and any recognition of the autonomy of the individual. By what right would we stop someone from smoking, a legal activity? From drinking alcohol? Overeating? . . .

My dad always liked smoko, its jokes, laughter and a chance to recharge. In his case, recharging from hard labouring work. This is not the Australia that my dad lived in last century, and it is not the one I want to live in this century either.

It's time that smokers, given their extraordinary contribution through taxes to the well-being of the nation, were given a fair go. The Government needs to explain this extraordinary discrimination against Australian voting smokers.

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Smoking fines not an idle threat this summer 

THE list of rules and regulations at Sydney's most popular beaches has expanded to include volleyball, kite flying and shell collecting in recent years. But one of the more significant by-laws - the ban on smoking - is going virtually unenforced.

Manly and Waverley councils introduced smoking bans at four of Sydney's most popular beaches including Bondi and Manly in 2004 in response to environmental and health concerns.

But since then not one fine has been handed out by council rangers at any of the beaches, drawing criticism from anti-smoking and environmental groups.

''To date [the] council has not issued any fines relating to our no smoking policy on Waverley's beaches: Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama,'' a Waverley spokeswoman said. ''I believe the police fined a few people last summer, but our rangers have not issued any.''

A Manly Council spokesman said his council had elected not to impose any fines. The councils say they have been focusing on education campaigns

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