Tobacco.org

Drug may guard against lung cancer death 

Tamoxifen, a drug commonly used to treat breast cancer, may also help reduce the risk of death from lung cancer, said a study published in the US peer-reviewed journal Cancer on Monday.

Tamoxifen works by blocking estrogen. Previous studies have shown that women undergoing hormone replacement therapy to boost estrogen during menopause showed an increased risk of dying from lung cancer.

Based on the hypothesis that blocking estrogen might also cut lung cancer death risk, researchers examined data from 6,655 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1980 and 2003 in Switzerland's Geneva Cancer Registry.

Close to half of those women, 3,066 (46 percent), were given anti-estrogen drugs.

The registry's Elisabetta Rapiti, lead author of the study in Cancer, followed all those subjects until December 2007 and looked at how many developed lung cancer and how many died from lung cancer.

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Drug may guard against lung cancer death 

Tamoxifen, a drug commonly used to treat breast cancer, may also help reduce the risk of death from lung cancer, said a study published in the US peer-reviewed journal Cancer on Monday.

Tamoxifen works by blocking estrogen. Previous studies have shown that women undergoing hormone replacement therapy to boost estrogen during menopause showed an increased risk of dying from lung cancer.

Based on the hypothesis that blocking estrogen might also cut lung cancer death risk, researchers examined data from 6,655 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1980 and 2003 in Switzerland's Geneva Cancer Registry.

Close to half of those women, 3,066 (46 percent), were given anti-estrogen drugs.

The registry's Elisabetta Rapiti, lead author of the study in Cancer, followed all those subjects until December 2007 and looked at how many developed lung cancer and how many died from lung cancer.

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Women and smoking - an unhealthy mix 

VERONICA JOSEPH started smoking in secondary school at age 14 to experiment and have fun with her friends. At 18, she smoked to "calm her nerves" and deal with everyday stress. By age 27, with two children, her cigarette use had increased and when she became pregnant with her third child at 29, she continued to smoke throughout her pregnancy. . . .

The government of TT has invoked smoking cessation legislation which involves smoking being banned in public places as well as restrictions on promotion, sale and distribution of tobacco products. The new law is designed to protect people from exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, especially children, babies and pregnant women, as well as preventing others from taking up the habit.

For World No Tobacco Day last May, the emphasis was on controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women. The World Health Organisation (WHO) called for comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship to protect women and girls from deceptive messages that portray smoking as glamorous or fashionable.

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World No Tobacco Day focusing on women smokers 

Ponder this...every eight seconds someone dies from using tobacco. Every year, 5.4 million people lose their lives due to smoking. . . .

Here at home, our government is moving to educate the population about the dangers of smoking and tobacco consumption. The Tobacco Control Act now prohibits persons from ‘lighting up’ in enclosed public areas. The act, passed in December 2009, and proclaimed by President George Maxwell Richards, came into effect on February 17.

Former health minister Jerry Narace, in a recent interview, said the act was designed to protect individuals from exposure to tobacco smoke, particularly children, babies and pregnant women.

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Call for widening of smoking ban 

It is my understanding that only parts of the Tobacco Control Act in TT have been proclaimed so far and that the remaining sections are still being finalised before they are introduced in Parliament. I also understand that the legislation now in place specifically prohibits smoking in enclosed public places.

This leads me to wonder how much further any additional legislation will go. Will it be aggressive enough, for example, to specifically protect children? . . .

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This leads me to wonder how much further any additional legislation will go. Will it be aggressive enough, for example, to specifically protect children? You may well be asking what provoked me to deal with this particular aspect of anti-smoking legislation today. Well, it was a very interesting report I read in the Times that did it.

According to the report, credited to the paper's health editor Sam Lister, 20 of Britain's most senior doctors called for a ban on smoking in cars, as part of a sweeping expansion of laws to protect children against the effects of inhaling smoke.

In a letter to the paper, they argued for more anti-smoking legislation to address the serious health problems caused by passive smoking. . . .

Compliance of the law has been high, with inspectors suggesting that 99 percent of public places were sticking to the rules. As for health benefits, studies suggest a reduction in hospital admissions for coronary heart disease, which has been linked to passive smoking.

So there you have it. Much for you to ponder. And when you have pondered, let those concerned know your views before the remaining sections of the Tobacco Control Act come up before Parliament. (By the way, if you are interested, British Summer Time began today. So the time here is now your time plus five hours. Cheers!)

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Owners divided on smoke-free bars  

Bars in Port of Spain are clamping down on smoking.

Customers were not allowed to 'light up' when the Express visited several bars in the downtown area yesterday.

Cigarettes, though, were still visible despite the law calling for them to be hidden.

The move from 'smoking allowed' to 'no smoking allowed' comes after Part III, Sections 1 to 9 of the Tobacco Control Act came into effect on February 17 prohibiting smoking in enclosed public places.

'I actually like it. I think this will help people stop smoking,' said a representative of Princess Casino on Independence Square, Port of Spain.

The casino used to be filled with smoke but, since the law, smokers are now being asked to step outside, he said.

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Health Minister hosts International, Regional and Local Tobacco Control Organizations 

Senator the Honourable Jerry Narace Minister of Health hosted several representatives of international, regional and local tobacco control organizations at the Ministry of Health’s Head Office on March 03, 2010. Those present at the meeting included Ms Lorraine Fry, General Manager of the Non-Smoker’s Rights Association of Canada, Ms Barbara McGah, Project Manager of the Caribbean Tobacco Control Project, and representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society. The meeting was held to facilitate an exchange of learnings regarding tobacco control, including the achievements made by Trinidad and Tobago in implementing tobacco control legislation. The information shared at the meeting will provide guidance on the way forward to all the parties involved.

Ms. Lorraine Fry took the opportunity to congratulate Minister Narace and the citizens of Trinidad & Tobago on the proclamation of parts of the Tobacco Control Act on February 17, 2010

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• Prison officers 'will uphold law' Uproar in jail over smoking ban  

Acting Commissioner of Prisons Martin Martinez says his officers will not be daunted or intimidated by recent attacks against them by condemned inmates over a cigarette-smoking ban on Death Row.

Martinez was referring to a hunger strike, which began last Friday by 37 convicted killers, who are protesting the smoking ban.

The acting Commissioner imposed the ban in keeping with the provisions of the Tobacco Control Bill, which prohibits smoking in enclosed public places. The legislation took effect on February 17 (Ash Wednesday).

In response, prisoners on Death Row hurled faeces and shouted obscenities and threats at officers assigned to the condemned block on Monday at the Port of Spain prison.

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• Non-smokers breathe relief  

It has long been the complaint of non-smokers that they are often left with smoke-filled clothing after a night out clubbing. But this problem has now gone up in smoke.

Since February 17, Part III and Sections 1 to 9 of the Tobacco Control Act have come into effect in this country. Included in the Part III of the new legislation is Section 12 of the Act which prohibits smoking in enclosed public areas, including bars, clubs, casinos and poolhalls.

Friday nights have always been known as a popular night for partying so this Friday was the first true test of the new legislation.

The Sunday Express hit the streets on Friday night to see exactly how the new law had affected smokers and clubbing in general.

For bar patrons the problem was easily rectified-patrons just walked outside when the tobacco urge kicked in.

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• Anti-tobacco law in effect 

A couple of weeks ago, the Minister of Health announced that some parts of the 2009 Tobacco Act would come into effect on Ash Wednesday. Doubtless, this timing was in the hope that some people, in the spirit of Lent, would give up smoking entirely. The bulk of smokers, however, will not stop smoking immediately, because the law is passed or Lent has started. It is thus important that they understand what impact the law will have on them. It is also important for owners of business places and employers to appreciate their obligations.

No smoking in enclosed place

Parts I and III (and some sections of Part II) of the Tobacco Act are set to come into effect. While Part I relates chiefly to definitions and the power of officers to search and so on, Part III more significantly deals with prohibitions that will now come into effect. Anyone who runs a business or rents out premises that operates a business will be affected by this law, and must familiarise himself with what are the prohibitions under the new act. Part III comprises 11 sections from Section 12 to Section 22. . . .

Anyone who owns a T-shirt that promotes cigarette use or any company that manufactures or sells tobacco products must be careful whether and when they wear such clothing, come next Wednesday.

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• Smoking ban in enclosed public places starts Wed 

FROM Ash Wednesday, smokers will no longer be allowed to light up in any enclosed public place. The Ministry of Health yesterday issued a release, announcing that the Tobacco Control Act, passed back in December 2009, will be proclaimed by President George Maxwell Richards and enforced in phases from Wednesday onwards. . . .

At the opening of special meeting of the Council for Social and Human Development (a body made up of Caribbean Health Ministers) last week at the Hyatt, Port of Spain, Health Minister Jerry Narace said he made a commitment to undertake a public education initiative before enforcing all of the clauses of the Act and to work on the specific regulations to support the Act.

'The Ministry of Health will now intensify its public education campaign regarding the Tobacco Control Act, the upcoming proclamation, and the health effects of tobacco use and second hand smoke in general. We shall also be launching a Tobacco Cessation Campaign

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RAMPERSAD: The new discrimination  

By the time you read this, the Tobacco Control Bill will be an Act, awaiting only the proclamation of the President before it is a punishable offence to smoke just about anywhere. The Act, I expect, will join those preventing littering and mandating the use of seatbelts (among many other bits of legislation relating to motoring behaviour) that, on paper, make the country appear awfully progressive but which in reality are seldom enforced.

The Tobacco Control Act will stand proudly as another law that will be utilised by law enforcement for nuisance benefit. . . .

That the dangers of second hand smoke are scientifically contested, that as far as I am aware there is yet to be a death certificate stating cause of death as second hand smoking or smoking even are issues far too heavy for us here to consider. It is considerably easier to parrot internationally fashionable legislation and issue snide remarks about the powerful tobacco lobby without reference to the powerful anti-smoking lobby that has over simplified the issue of smoking in public in order to generate widespread support for its well-financed agenda. . . .

What began as a fair and reasonable campaign to encourage smokers to respect the wishes of non-smokers has evolved into outright hostility by anti-smoking activists and the demonisation of anyone who chooses to smoke. This has worked so well that smokers themselves have become voiceless victims, huddling to tief a smoke, targets of unprovoked verbal sanctions, pariahs who have also internalised these messages and consider themselves engaging in 'a nasty habit'.

This authoritarian piece of legislation undermines the civil liberties of citizens to an unacceptable extent and legitimises discrimination against smokers to an extent that infringes on their human rights. This is not the same as saying that there ought to be no control at all on smoking or that all the data relating to the risks of smoking is inaccurate.

But to impose such hefty fines, to consider outlawing the sale of single cigarettes, to enter people's homes and legislate on the consumption of, I repeat, a legal product, is surely going too far. But then again, if there is one country in the world these days where going too far is commonplace, Trinidad and Tobago appears to be it.

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Tobacco disaster  

Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society chairman Dr George Laquis estimates the Government needs to put out a start-up capital of $20 million to provide a comprehensive programme to curb tobacco smoking in T&T. The society, which has been at the forefront in the fight against tobacco usage because of the risk of contracting cancer, was prepared to be of assistance to the State, and he expected the business community to chip in. But Laquis wants no financial help from West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco), the country’s sole cigarette manufacturer. “Witco should have no hand in this programme. Their motivation is simple...undermine what we do. “They pretend to be a good corporate citizen, but they are just vultures,” declared Laquis. . . .

Asked if the State should subsidise the “patch,” which is affixed to the skin and doles out steadily decreasing doses of nicotine that is the main cause of smoking addiction, Laquis said in reality the patch was not very efficient, in effect “half-way nonsense.” And there are other tried and tested medical routes to assist smokers to quit, he indicated. He mentioned the use of lasers, acupuncture and drugs like Zaiban and Chantix. . . .

According to Laquis, the State needs to invest at least $20 million in a smoking prevention programme, hiring professionals like psychologists to encourage youth to stop the habit, or stay away from it if they have not yet been hooked. “That is the cheapest money the State will ever spend.

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Tobacco bill next week  

when the House next sits on December 4, the main item on the agenda for discussion will be the Tobacco Control Bill 2009. The bill was passed with amendments in the Senate on November 20. One of the objectives of the bill is to ban smoking in certain public places.

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GIBBS: I’m holding the smoking gun . . . 

I’m just old enough to remember when people came in twos. There were two types of people; the cool, suave and sophisticated smoker, and the pale, bland and totally unattractive non-smoker. Back then tobacco companies ruled the world, and your entire life was diced up into whether or not you lit-up. Restaurants, cinemas, office space and even planes were divided into sections. In 1973 the first non-smoking sections were introduced on airlines, and the trend never stopped. My first glimpse of the anti-tobacco machine came as a teenager watching a debate on CNN. The battle cry back then was to ban smoking on domestic flights within the US. It would also be the first and last time I would see someone really trying to defend the rights of smokers. . . .

I laughed when I heard Attorney General John Jeremie talking about the powerful “tobacco complex,” working behind the scenes to stop the legislations they proposed. You see, every time I walk to the corner store to buy a pack of smokes I pay close to 60 per cent of the purchase price in taxes to the Government... for nothing. There is no health plan for smokers . . .

I am fully aware of the vocal backlash I, as a smoker, will get from my non-smoking Trinbagonians. However, I feel I must pick up the smoking gun and go on record, because my “pusher” seems to be hiding in the dark. The disdain of smokers seems to now live in Mt D’Or. It is just inconceivable to me, whose crime it is to buy your product, that was still legal up to press time, that I can be treated like a bastard child that not even the father/pusher seems to be willing to take care of.

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