Tobacco.org

• Genetic predisposition can play an important role in development of lung cancer 

First-degree relatives of lung cancer patients have a 2 to 3.5 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than the general population, and tobacco smoke plays a major role, even among those with a genetic predisposition, according to a study in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer among men and women in many Western countries, according to background information in the article. Death due to lung cancer in the United States exceeds the death rate from breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined. The dominant role of tobacco smoke as a causative factor in lung cancer has been well established. Other studies have indicated that there may be an inherited predisposition to lung cancer, but data have been limited.

Steinn Jonsson, M.D., of the Landspitali-University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland, and colleagues examined the contribution of genetic factors to the risk of developing lung cancer in the population of Iceland.

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• Talks begin on cutting tobacco deaths 

Politically and commercially charged negotiations on an international tobacco control agreement resumed Monday with warnings about the explosion in smoking-related deaths.

"Every single one of those four million people who died last year (of tobacco-related illnesses) could have lived longer -- five years longer, 10 years longer, 20 years longer," World Health Organization director-general Gro Harlem Brundtland told delegates from 190 nations.

"It is these lives and lost years which provide us the answers to those who will speak to you of profits and marketing gains, of special concessions and "reasonable" campaigns. There is nothing reasonable about tobacco deaths," the U.N. health chief said.

She renewed her appeals for the treaty to include advertising and sponsorship bans, anti-smuggling measures, product regulation and better education.

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RT News: Fahey clarifies support for smoking ban 

The Minister of State at the Dept of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Frank Fahey, has said that he supports the Government's proposed ban on smoking in the workplace and will implement the legislation.

Mr Fahey's position on the ban has been the subject of Opposition speculation in recent days.

In a statement, he said that as minister with responsibility for health and safety in the workplace he was fully committed to the policy.

But he said the issue of enforcement needed to be carefully addressed and that he was currently awaiting recommendations from the Health and Safety Authority.

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New book on Nordic tobacco control to be launched at 12th WCTOH 

To mark the holding of the 12th WCTOH in the Nordic area, a new publication entitled Nordic tobacco control " towards smokefree societies will be launched at the conference. This will take place on Monday 4 August at 12.30 pm in the exhibition area (D10-D11).

Published with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic tobacco control " towards smokefree societies covers the state of the tobacco problem in each of the five countries and charts how innovative public health responses have won impressive results in cutting tobacco use.

The book also provides comparative statistical information about tobacco use and control, information on the contexts of Nordic cooperation and on the ever-slippery behaviour of the tobacco industry.

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