Tobacco.org

• Ban on sweet hookah tobacco imminent 

The message from Health Minister Jakob Axel Nielsen is clear: young people are hitting the hookahs too much and the addictive tobacco used in the water pipes should be banned.

A parliamentary majority supports a ban on the sweet-flavoured tobacco used in water pipes, and Nielsen agreed measures needed to be introduced to protect the young.

‘It’s a really bad idea to have sweet addictive tobacco in water pipes and worrying that it’s become so popular among young people, which is why I’m investigating whether we can introduce a ban in Denmark,’ Nielsen said to DR News.

The move comes on the heels of a study carried out by the National Cancer Society and Maastricht University, which found young people who use water pipes are three times as likely to smoke regular cigarettes.

About 800 Danish students aged 15-16 were monitored for a year as part of the study.

Jump to full article »

• Ban on hookah tobacco in the works  

Young people in Denmark smoke hookah more than young people anywhere else in Europe, but that is about to come to an end. A parliamentary majority want to ban the addictive, sweet tobacco, according to free daily newspaper 24timer.

- If I was to be optimistic, I would say that we will have a ban before the arrival of spring. In any circumstance, one will be in place before the end of the parliamentary year in the beginning of June, says head of the parliamentary health committee, Preben Rudiengaard (Venstre) to the free daily.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban outside schools mooted 

A proposal to reduce the number of school smoking areas in the hope of curbing the number of young smokers has been snuffed out (Photo: Kyle Wheeler)

Local Government Denmark seeks extension on smoking ban as part of 500 million kroner health investment

Smoking anywhere near educational institutions could be a thing of the past if Local Government Denmark (LGD) has its way.

The umbrella organisation for local councils nationwide has developed a preventative proposal, based on National Board of Health recommendations, to improve policies on smoking, drinking and health. . . .

The Danish Union of Teachers is backing the smoking ban extension.

Jump to full article »

• Smoke-free flats considered 

An increasing number of complaints by tenants over cigarette smoke from adjoining flats have resulted in housing companies considering how they can establish smoke-free complexes.

KAB, the country’s largest administrator of non-profit housing, already presented the idea back in December, and now Fredensborg Housing Association has put forth a fully completed plan for several non-smoking housing blocks.

However, implementing the no-smoking policy could face many obstacles – not least that associations may not discriminate against smokers.

Jump to full article »

• Smokers at Increased Risk for Pancreatitis  

Action Points

* Explain to interested patients that the established risk factors for pancreatitis are alcohol use and gallstones.

* Note that this cohort study found that almost half the cases of the illness were associated with tobacco use, independent of the other risk factors.

* Point out that this study cannot prove causality.

The finding, from a large Danish cohort study, adds tobacco use to the established pancreatitis risk factors of alcohol use and gallstone disease, according to Janne Schurmann Tolstrup, Ph.D., of the University of Southern Denmark, and colleagues.

The increased risk was roughly the same in both men and women and increased with the amount of tobacco smoked, the researchers said in the March 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Jump to full article »

• Survey: Smoking on the decline in Denmark 

Smoking is on the decline in Denmark where roughly one in four people smoke daily, a new survey published Monday said. A record number of Danish smokers also want to quit the habit, the survey said.

The findings also indicated that there is support for hiking tobacco prices - such a move was supported by 59 per cent and opposed by just 19 per cent.

In all 23 per cent of Danish nationals over 15 years of age smoke daily, totalling roughly 1 million people. In addition some 200,000 people, or 5 per cent of the population, smoke occasionally, the new survey said.

A year ago, 24 per cent of the Scandinavian country's some 5.5 million people were estimated to smoke daily.

Smoking was less prevalent among younger sections

Jump to full article »

• Tobacco law finally here 

Legislators have described as historic, last week's passage of a law that will ban smoking in many public places and place tougher restrictions on the promotion, sale and distribution of tobacco products.

Cigar smokers will still be able to smoke indoors under an exemption for cigar bars. Photo: James Dimond

After receiving unanimous approval in the Legislative Assembly, the bill will now go to Governor Stuart Jack for his assent.

Most parts of the bill are expected to come into force within six months of Mr. Jack signing off on the law, although Mr. Eden said he expects enforcement officers will give the public some leeway as they get used to the new anti-smoking regime.

"It's not about prosecuting people, it's about the health of the nation,

Jump to full article »

• Age limit for tobacco goes up - Politiken.dk 

A new law takes effect on Monday making it illegal for young people under the age of 18 to purchase tobacco or to introduce tobacco to Denmark from abroad.

Jump to full article »

• BJOG Release: Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy During Pregnancy 

To assist in smoking cessation, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is commonly prescribed but there is little information about the effects of NRT on a pregnant woman and her baby. New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology examines whether NRT is safe to use during pregnancy.

87, 032 singleton pregnancies from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) over the period 1996 - 2002 were selected for the study. . . .

The study confirms that smoking during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of stillbirth regardless of whether NRT was used. 2% of women in the study used NRT. Researchers found that women using NRT during pregnancy tended to be older (35 years and above), were first-time mothers and had normal weight (BMI below 25). . . .

"Our study suggests that NRT-assisted smoking cessation or smoking reduction in early pregnancy provides some protection from stillbirth among women who continue to smoke during pregnancy. More research on a range of smoking-associated health outcomes is needed if we are to understand the overall safety of NRT use in pregnancy."

Jump to full article »

• Rock icon takes on anti-smoking laws 

Musician Kim Larsen is one of the main forces behind a new campaign aimed at criticising the country's recent anti-smoking laws, reports Fyens Stiftstidende newspaper.

Larsen, who became popular in the 1970s with Gasolin' - widely considered Denmark's biggest rock band ever - has teamed up with cultural foundation Himmelblå Fonden to print and put up thousands of posters voicing opposition to the smoking regulations.

Carrying the heading 'Tillykke med Rygeforbudet' ('Congratulations on the smoking ban'), the posters show a 'no smoking' logo followed by 'Gesundheit macht frei' - meaning loosely 'Good health brings freedom' in German.

The posters have been placed in many train stations and advertising stands in Denmark's four largest cities

Jump to full article »

• Broad support for the smoking ban one year after it was introduced also shows a decrease in number of smokers  

One year later and the uproar over the introduction of a smoking ban in Denmark has subsided, with more people wanting to avoid the fags.

The latest figures published by Statistics Denmark show that the average use of cigarettes per head of population has dropped and that the tobacco industry has been hit in the pocket as well.

Since the introduction of the smoking ban last year, cigarette sales have dropped by three percent, which translates to about 200 million fewer cigarettes.

The Cancer Society's latest report shows that in 2007, 40 percent of smokers wanted to quit. This is almost double the number from 2005.

Those who want to quit may find the process easier if the regulations banning smoking inside all workplaces were tightened, as recently suggested by the Ministry of Health's prevention commission. . . .

A poll by Zapera for MetroXpress newspaper shows that three out of four Danes are pleased with the way the smoking ban is working, and that 34 percent of them would like to see smoking regulations tightened.

Fifty-four percent of the 1020 respondents want to see increased taxes

Jump to full article »

• Smokers have to punch in and out 

Employers are tightening the reins on their smoking employees by enforcing a new rule requring them to punch in and out every time they leave their desks for a cigarette break, reports Nyhedsavisen newspaper.

3F, one of the country's largest labour unions, is one of the companies who wants a harder line, despite the cries of protest by smoking workers.

'This is about equality between those who stay at their desks and carry on working and those who go outside for a cigarette break,' said Per Christensen, a 3F spokesperson.

Anette Bertram Sorensen, a representative for HK, the union for office workers, said it was 'grotesque' that management was singling out smokers only.

Jump to full article »

• Survey: Small restaurants not impacted by Danish public smoking ban 

A recent public smoking ban has apparently not impacted sales at small Danish pubs and restaurants as feared by bar owners, a survey published Friday said. Sales of beer and other beverages increased 8 per cent in the four-month period after the smoking ban came into force on September 1 compared to the corresponding business period in 2006, Statistics Denmark said.

The law exempts pubs or restaurants that are smaller than 40 square metres, and offices used by one person.

Jump to full article »

• Finance minister breaks smoking ban  

Despite being a fervent proponent of the smoking ban, the finance minister has recently come under fire for smoking in his office during meetings with staff, reports Politiken newspaper.

The Liberal party finance minister Lars L�kke Rasmussen has also been reported to the Working Environment Authority for breaching the smoking ban by Red-Green Alliance's Per Clausen.

Clausen said that he did not believe it was legal for Rasmussen to smoke in his office despite the law allowing smoking in one-person offices as meetings were often held in private offices.

Jump to full article »

• Complete smoking ban on the way 

The nation's smokers should brace themselves - a complete smoking ban will be enforced before long at all public places

Smoking will soon be banned in all pubs and caf�s. Even in establishments smaller than 40 square metres.

This loophole has kept smoking alive for many of the country's small establishments, and although the rule is less than a year old, MPs with Liberal Party politicians in the lead are gearing up for a complete ban.

Jump to full article »