http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/asia.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/10/1/3 http://tobacco.org/news/333076.html Introduction In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past two decades locally relevant tobacco control research has been scant. Experience shows that tobacco control measures should be based on sound research findings to ensure that measures are appropriate for local conditions and that they are likely to have an impact. Research should also be integrated within tobacco control measures to ensure ongoing learning and the production of knowledge. Thailand, a middle-income country, has a public health community with a record of successful tobacco control and a longstanding commitment to research. . . . Conclusion The evolution of tobacco control research in Thailand provides examples of steppingstones that LMICs may be able to use to construct their own tobacco control research pathways. Health Research Policy and Systems Thailand Asia Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/12/01/philip-morris-international-heading-to-75-on-cig-popularity-in-asia/ http://tobacco.org/news/329904.html Philip Morris International, the world’s leading international tobacco company outside of the U.S. and China, recently presented at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference in New York and provided more optimistic estimates of the global cigarette industry volume trends. Over the next five years, PMI expects cigarette industry volume (outside the U.S.) to increase up to 1.3% a year, which is an improved outlook compared to previous forecasts. Philip Morris International competes with British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Group plc in its various geographical segments. Forbes Asia Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=115968&sid=34036671&con_type=1 http://tobacco.org/news/327397.html South Korea has pledged more help for the World Health Organization's fight against noncommunicable diseases - an effort that lacks bite in much of Asia because of a lack of government support. Seoul's vice minister for health and welfare, Choi Won Young, told the WHO Western Pacific regional meeting in Manila yesterday that his government is pledging an additional US$4.5 million (HK$35.1 million) over five years for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and for drugs needed after disasters. The pledge was rare good news on a day that focused on cancer, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, which claim about 30,000 lives every day in the Western Pacific region, which includes Greater China. Regional director Shin Young Soo, wrapping up the session, said the issue of tackling noncommunicable diseases is an issue that has become "global and political" and the need is to work with partner agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, which can "squeeze the arms" of government ministers on matters such as increasing tax on tobacco. Hong Kong Standard feedback@thestandard.com.hk Korea - South Asia Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111003005801/en/Research-Markets-Tobacco---Asia.-Report-Market http://tobacco.org/news/327232.html Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/20919d/tobacco_asia) has announced the addition of the "Tobacco - Asia" report to their offering. "Tobacco - Asia" contains tobacco market analyses from 23 Asian countries. The tobacco market analyses give an overview of the actual situation, trends and future outlook of the tobacco markets in different Asian countries. They provide essential market information for decision-makers including: * Overall market value for tobacco * Overall market volume for tobacco * Market value and volume for tobacco by type (cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and cheroots, reconstituted and homogenized tobacco, smoking tobacco, other) Business Wire press@researchandmarkets.com Asia Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://starplus.ie/gossip/westlife-criticised-over-controversial-concert-sponsorship/3394/ http://tobacco.org/news/326982.html Westlife have landed themselves in trouble after a cigarette company sponsored one of their Asian gigs reports Kathryn Roger Westlife last night extinguished claims they are endorsing smoking by playing concerts sponsored by cigarette companies - burning their squeaky clean image into ashes. Fans and anti smoking campaigners fumed over news that the pop sensations, who are on a tour of South East Asia, went ahead with a show in Jakarta, Indonesia sponsored by Clas Mild cigarettes. “I'm calling on Westlife to grow up and to try and have some responsibility for their actions,” said anti-smoking campaigner Dr Luke Clancy of ASH Ireland. “They will be directly responsible for the deaths of children. I can't believe Westlife need the money. They shouldn't be doing it anywhere,” he blasted. However, speaking to The Star last night, band member Kian Egan (31) moved to extinguish the flames by claiming the group had no knowledge of the tobacco company's involvement in their appearances and get no cash from the sponsors. "We were totally unaware that a tobacco company was sponsoring our gig,” he puffed. “We have nothing to do with it. The sponsors over here put it in place.” Starplus.ie colin.casey@Starplus.ie (Colin Casey) Ireland Asia Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://seatca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=12&Itemid=75 http://tobacco.org/news/326813.html * NEWS & MEDIA * Regional Updates * International Updates * NEWS ARCHIVE (Before 2009) * RESOURCE CENTER * TOBACCO CONTROL LAW Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance Asia Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://seatca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1016:lessons-learned-in-establishing-a-health-promotion-fund&catid=1:regional-updates&Itemid=57 http://tobacco.org/news/326812.html The Southeast Asia Initiative on Tobacco Tax (SITT)-SEATCA has just released its latest publication entitled “Lessons Learned in Establishing a Health Promotion Fund.” The document describes why countries need sustainable funding for Health Promotion and how these funds can be utilized. It also helps advocates respond to common questions by policymakers and the public. Government officials and other advocates can learn to differentiate types of funding sources and where it can be sourced. Successful health promotion foundations have been established, and lessons and good practices for their institutionalization are described, as well as how they were able to flourish in different governance structures. The booklet provides examples of how states and countries have dedicated these funds and what structures were put in place to administer them. Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance Asia Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://current.com/shows/vanguard/93310429_what-big-tobacco-really-says-about-smoking-scenes-from-vanguard.htm http://tobacco.org/news/323169.html In this scene from "Sex, Lies & Cigarettes," correspondent Christof Putzel goes undercover at the World Tobacco Asia 2010 exhibition, a trade conference for tobacco vendors and marketers, to get an unvarnished take on efforts to increase smoking in the developing world. Current TV, LLC Indonesia Asia Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2011/06/19/Tobacco-chewing-poses-cancer-threat.html http://tobacco.org/news/322099.html South Asian men are more likely than any other group in New Jersey to use chewing tobacco -- and health officials are concerned that many actually believe it is good for them. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey drilled down through reams of federal data about tobacco use to learn about the smoking and tobacco use of South Asian immigrants. They found that 2.7 percent of South Asian men use smokeless tobacco, compared with 1 percent of white men and 0.3 percent of black men. Indian men were more likely to chew tobacco than Pakistani or Bangladeshi men, and Pakistanis were more likely to smoke cigarettes than the other immigrant groups. Women from South Asia were more likely to take up smoking, upon immigrating to the northeastern United States, while men were more likely to quit. "What we know about South Asians is that tobacco use is very deeply rooted in their culture," said Cristine D. Delnevo, the lead author of the study published in the most recent issue of Journal of Oncology, a special edition about smoking and cancer. . . . This study was the first to use "country of origin" information to analyze cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use. Toledo Blade Asia Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=697312&publicationSubCategoryId=68 http://tobacco.org/news/321773.html SIEM REAP, Cambodia - Health experts yesterday warned against the use of sisha and the so-called e-cigarettes, claiming the devices are no different from real cigarettes in nicotine content. Dr. Susan Mercado, regional adviser for Tobacco-Free Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO)-Western Pacific Region Office, said sisha was proven to be harmful to health in a lot of international studies. "One hour of sisha exposure is equivalent to 100 cigarettes. It's quite toxic. It looks like it's not harmful but it is harmful," Mercado stressed. During the regional workshop on implementing Article 13 of the WHO-initiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control organized by Thailand-based Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance here, Mercado said the alternative methods of smoking have also been proven addictive because of their nicotine content. Philippine Star Asia Cambodia Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/10/magazine/pushing-cigarettes-overseas.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm http://tobacco.org/news/320711.html Watching Koop pound home his statistics, surrounded by a phalanx of America's top health officials -physicians from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and its Office of Smoking and Health - one would think he was leading a unified campaign toward what he likes to call ''a smoke-free society.'' He is not. Less than a mile away, just across Washington's long, grassy Mall, men and women at the Office of the United States Trade Representative are energetically pursuing a very different goal: to open foreign markets to American tobacco. Working with the Departments of Commerce and State as well as leaders in Congress, the trade office has chalked up a string of victories in recent years that have forced the governments of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to level a playing field that for years was pitched to discourage competition from cigarettes manufactured in the West. To civil servants at the trade office and the Commerce Department, who slog daily through the mire of international trade negotiations, tobacco is not a health issue. Rather, the export of American cigarettes is legitimate and lucrative, earning approximately $2.5 billion annually in export revenue. In a decade where American goods - from sweet corn to stereo components to semi-conductors - are losing ground in Asia, cigarettes represent a rare and fiercely defended success story. Tobacco exports to the region rose by 76 percent last year alone. But the trade office's breakthroughs have lent new urgency to a formerly benign question: Should the United States Government be promoting tobacco use abroad when, for health reasons, it is laboring to wean its citizens of tobacco at home? Two weeks ago, Canada passed laws that ban all tobacco advertising and require cigarette packs to carry a detailed warning of the dangers of smoking. American anti-smoking groups hope the measures, which far exceed United States restrictions on tobacco, will prompt similar legislation from Washington. The United States is not the only nation finding it increasingly awkward to tolerate a Janus-faced policy on smoking. An increasingly vocal minority of anti-smoking activists in Asia interpret the staggeringly high percentages of male smokers (63 percent in Japan, 90 percent in China), and accelerating rates of smoking among Asian women and minors, as long-term threats to public health. . . . Gladstone locked his sights on the dubious morality of foisting an addictive drug on the Chinese. The government of China had every right to mobilize against the shipments, he argued, adding that the current crisis was so ''unjust in its origin'' and ''calculated in its progress'' as ''to cover this country with permanent disgrace.'' . . . If there are any direct parallels to be drawn between the bureaucratic infighting over tobacco and the original Opium War, one might describe Peter F. Allgeier as the present-day Peel. Allgeier is Assistant United States Trade Representative for Asia and the Pacific -our Government's point man in prosecuting 301 actions against Taiwan and Korea. A veteran of grinding, hundred-hour negotiating deadlocks in Washington, Taipei and Seoul, Allgeier is proud of the trade office's recent victories and bridles at anti-smoking activists who ''over-simplify a very complicated issue.'' New York Times Asia USA Sun, 10 Jul 1988 04:00:00 GMT http://www.gmanews.tv/story/221065/pinoy-abroad/pinoy-doctor-wins-intl-award-for-tobacco-control http://tobacco.org/news/320292.html A Filipino became the first Asian to receive the Judy Wilkenfeld Award for International Tobacco Control Excellence, a recognition given to someone who works to reduce tobacco use through policy advocacy. Neuro-ophthalmologist E. Ulysses Dorotheo received the award during the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' awards gala in Washington last May 18. The award is bestowed to those who exemplify the traits of American Judy Wilkenfeld, who worked tirelessly to reduce tobacco's toll for more than 20 years. Dorotheo has been a tobacco control advocate for over 10 years. At present, he is the director for the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance's (SEATCA) Southeast Asia Initiative on Tobacco Tax, a five-year project aimed primarily at raising tobacco taxes and prices in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam. GMANews.TV Philippines Asia Thu, 19 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/fashion/yves-saint-laurent-promotes-own-label-cigarettes-in-asia-and-russia/story-e6frf8o6-1226059790911 http://tobacco.org/news/320233.html TOBACCO advertising is banned in Australia, the US and Europe, and smoking indoors is against the law in many of the world's major cities. But in fashion, it appears, the habit is still as fashionable as ever. Cancer risk seems to be of little concern to Yves Saint Laurent, which is promoting and selling cigarettes bearing its designer logo. The cigarettes, which come in a sleek black box with gold foil, are being marketed towards women in Asia and Russia. Melbourne Herald Sun UK Russia Asia Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/femail/article-1388730/Yves-Saint-Laurent-promoting-sophisticated-label-cigarettes-Asia-Russia.html http://tobacco.org/news/320119.html Tobacco advertising is banned in the U.S. and Europe, and smoking indoors is against the law in many of the world's major cities. But in fashion, it appears, the habit is still as fashionable as ever. Cancer risk seems to be of little concern to Yves Saint Laurent which is promoting and selling cigarettes bearing its designer logo. The cigarettes, which come in a sleek black box with gold foil, are being marketed towards women in Asia and Russia. . . . They are accompanied by an advertisement featuring a model that looks uncannily like Kate Moss, who came under fierce criticism when she smoked on the Louis Vuitton catwalk earlier this year. . . . Yves Saint Laurent, who died in 2008, famously named a 1966 tuxedo for women Le Smoking. It is a design that continues to influence fashion today. YSL follows in the footsteps of Cartier and Pierre Cardin, which have also given tobacco firms permission to use their logo. The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday Russia Asia Thu, 19 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://search.eurekalert.org/e3/cs.html?url=http%3A//www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/esoc-tes042711.php&charset=iso-8859-1&qt=tobacco%2C+smoking%2C+cigarettes&col=ev3rel&n=2&la=en http://tobacco.org/news/319166.html In the context of rising levels of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the Asia Pacific region, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) announces that -for the first time- the Society will send an official delegation to participate in the Asia Pacific Congress of Cardiology (APCC). The 18th edition of the APCC meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 5 to 8 May 2011. The ESC deputation will present an educational programme called ESC@APSC on 4 and 5 May that includes an introduction to its latest Clinical Guidelines, observations from relevant ESC case studies and highlights from the ESC Congress 2010. Representing the ESC will be the President, Professor Michel Komajda, along with members of the ESC Board, and a number of renowned cardiologists including the authors of some of its most recent Guidelines. "It is clear that CVD risk factors are not confined to the western world", says Professor Komajda. "The situation today in Asia Pacific follows a familiar pattern of lifestyle issues that will see sharp increases in CVD similar to those we experienced in Europe. The main causes in both regions are poor diet, lack of exercise, and high consumption of alcohol and tobacco." The Global Scientific Activities Committee (GSA) of the ESC is making a concerted effort to extend the ESC's scientific activities beyond Europe. EurekAlert press@escardio.org Europe Asia Sat, 30 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT