A ban on vending machines selling cigarettes in Northern Ireland will be in place in a matter of months in a move that is expected to save thousands of lives. The new legislation is to come into force on March 1 and it is hoped this will cut the number of children and young people who smoke, as they will no longer be able to purchase cigarettes from vending machines. However, it will be at least three years before new laws come into place stopping small shops from openly displaying tobacco products. Restrictions on larger shops, such as supermarkets, are expected to be introduced by the end of next year.

Members at Stormont voted in favour of the legislation for vending machines at the Assembly yesterday after Health Minister Edwin Poots (right) said it would help to save lives.

He said: “A survey in Northern Ireland in 2010 highlights that for 14% of smokers aged between 11 and 16 years, cigarette vending machines are a usual source of tobacco. Children and young people are particularly vulnerable consumers in that they are generally unaware of the long-term health implications of tobacco use.

“The main aim in introducing the legislation is to prevent children and young people from being able to access tobacco from a largely unsupervised source. These regulations will also bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.”

A ban on the sale of cigarettes from vending machines is already in place in England and will come into force in Wales at the beginning of next month.

A leading health charity has welcomed the latest development but urged politicians here to work to bring further controls on the sale of tobacco as soon as possible.

Jayne Murray from the British Heart Foundation in Northern Ireland said: “Vending machines don’t ask for proof of age and are an easy route for children to tobacco.”

Factfile

Smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of premature death and avoidable illness. On average it kills six people each day in Northern Ireland – 2,300 deaths each year. Research has found the cost of smoking to society is high – in economic terms, the hospital cost of treating smoking-related illnesses in Northern Ireland is in the region of £119m each year. It is estimated that there are approximately 1,800 tobacco vending machines in Northern Ireland.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has signed a contract with the state of Maine to provide up to $2.1 million over three years for tobacco law enforcement in the state. Under the grant Maine will be able to continue its efforts to curb teen smoking. The program has been called a success by federal officials and cited as a model for other states.?But Mary Mayhew, commissioner of Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, says smoking is still a major problem facing the state.

“In 1997, nearly four out of every 10 youths in Maine were smokers and our state was among the nation’s highest in the national youth smoking rankings; in 2009, the rate had dropped to 18.1 percent. We know, however, that youth smoking rates are on the upward trend.”

Maine’s laws mirror federal statutes. Sale of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigarette tobacco to anyone under age 18 is prohibited. Retailers are required to check the identification of anyone under age 27.

An annual survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) of year 10 high school students shows 5.5% reported smoking on a daily basis last year, a decrease of only 0.1% from the year before. Daily smoking rates among 14- and 15-year-olds have steadily fallen by more than 60% since the survey began 11 years ago. The survey also shows another 10% of students were regular smokers, while 64% had never smoked.

The proportion of Maori students smoking regularly fell by 2.5% to 21% – about double the general rate for year 10 students.
ASH director Ben Youdan hopes the information will spur more action on policies to reduce teenage smoking. He says most of the new government controls on tobacco are yet to kick in.

New data announced today in the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study shows that the decline in youth smoking rates has remained at a standstill for another year and appears to reflect a small uptick by students in the nation’s 8th and 10th grades. As states have shifted their tobacco settlement dollars away from effective tobacco control and prevention programs to fill budget shortfalls, it is our youth who are paying the price. It is critical that we renew efforts to reduce tobacco consumption if we are to reverse these troubling new smoking rates in order to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2020 objectives, which projects youth smoking rates at 16 percent by 2020.

Monitoring the Future, now in its 36th year, is the most respected source for current data on youth smoking. In light of the findings in today’s report, we must redouble our efforts to jumpstart the historic declines in smoking the country witnessed in the late 1990s.
The survey found that the percentage of 8th graders who had smoked over past months had increased from 6.5 percent in 2009 to 7.1 percent in 2010, and for those in 10th grade, it increased from 13.1 percent to 13.6 percent. The perceived risk of smoking and the negative attitudes towards smokers seem to be reversing itself. According to Lloyd Johnson, lead investigator on Monitoring the Future, “Cigarette smoking is no longer declining and is increasing for the youngest surveyed.”
Legacy®, the national public health foundation devoted to keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit, is committed to finding new ways to reach and engage with the teen audience, with the ultimate goal of reducing youth smoking prevalence. This is especially important as the tobacco industry continues to successfully market its products and new smokers are addicted.
The foundation’s evidence-based truth® youth smoking prevention campaign is a national effort that delivers facts and messages to teens about tobacco, but avoids giving directive statements telling youth not to smoke. Research has indicated that in the first four years of the campaign, 22 percent of the overall decline in youth smoking was directly attributable to truth. It is critical that funding continues to grow for efforts like truth campaign and state-specific smoking prevention campaigns. While the proven-effective campaign celebrated its 10th year in 2010, its national broadcast presence has been diminished by a lack of funding that is mirrored in the increase in smoking rates over the same time period when the U.S. youth smoking declines began to level off.
About eighty percent of all smokers have their first cigarette before age 18, and every day 1,100 youth become daily smokers. These daily smokers will continue down a path of tobacco-related diseases and will incur higher healthcare costs than nonsmoking Americans. Funding youth smoking-prevention efforts and encouraging parents to be roll models and quit, could prevent these ill effects.

High proportions of youths with types 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus use tobacco, which adds to their already elevated risk for developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in the Journal of Pediatrics. THURSDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) — High proportions of youths with types 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus use tobacco, which adds to their already elevated risk for developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Kristi Reynolds, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, and colleagues surveyed 3,466 youths (aged 10 to 22 years) with diabetes from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study about their use of tobacco. The researchers also analyzed the association of smoking with cardiovascular risk factors, including waist circumference, blood pressure, physical activity, and lipid profile.

For those with type 1 diabetes, the investigators found that tobacco use was 2.7 percent in the 10 to 14 age group, 17.1 percent in the 15 to 19 age group, and 34.0 percent in the 20 and older age group. For type 2 diabetes, tobacco use was found to be 5.5, 16.4, and 40.3 percent in those age groups, respectively. Among the 10 to 14 age group, only 47.2 percent of those with type 1 disease and 40.7 percent with type 2 disease said they had ever been counseled about not smoking by a health care provider. Cigarette smoking was associated with physical inactivity and high triglycerides in youths with type 1 diabetes.

“Tobacco use is prevalent in youth with diabetes mellitus. Aggressive tobacco prevention and cessation programs should be a high priority to prevent or delay the development of cardiovascular disease,” the authors write.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham have discovered that putting tobacco out of sight in shops can change the attitude of young people to smoking, while not hitting retailers in the pocket. Academics from the University’s UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies looked at the effect of the removal of tobacco displays in the Republic of Ireland, ahead of similar legislation which is due to come into force in the UK.

In one study the research team found that the number of teenagers who recalled tobacco displays dropped from 81 per cent to only 22 per cent, after July 1 when the displays were removed.

After they were removed, fewer young people believed smoking is widespread among their peers — before this 62 per cent thought that more than one in five children their own age smoked, which fell to 46 per cent afterwards.

After displays were covered up, 38 per cent of teenagers thought the measure would make it easier for children not to smoke and 14 per cent of adults thought the law made it easier to quit smoking. The research also showed support for putting tobacco out of sight rose from 58 per cent to 66 per cent after the measure came into force.

Professor Ann McNeill, lead researcher on the project, said: “Our research shows that removing point of sale displays of tobacco has a measurable impact on how young people think about tobacco, and helps underline that they are not ”normal consumer products”. The law is popular among adults, even adult smokers.

“Removing cigarettes from sight will stop smokers from being constantly reminded of tobacco. Our research adds to the clear body of evidence that this measure should be implemented by other countries as soon as possible.”

In a further study, the team showed that taking tobacco displays down did not result in any loss of income for retailers. The results should ease concerns that the measures — which are designed to protect children from tobacco marketing and uncontrolled access to cigarettes — will have a negative effect on business. They rebuff claims that Irish shops suffered a large drop in sales and small businesses have expressed concern about this in Ireland.

Dr Quinn, the economist at the University of Nottingham stated: “As expected we did not see any significant change in sales following the implementation of the legislation beyond the trend of falling sales that already exists. This legislation was designed to make smoking less attractive to children and young people not to make adult smokers quit. It will take some time for the impact to work its way through as the next generation of children grow up protected from large and colourful cigarette displays every time they go to buy their sweets. These findings contradict several reports coming from the retail sector that cigarette sales have rapidly decreased since the removal of promotional displays and that this decline is due to the new legislation.”

Professor McNeill added: “The removal of point of sale displays is aimed at reducing the pernicious effects of tobacco advertising on children and is therefore likely to have an impact on sales over a much more protracted time period. Removing tobacco displays from sight is important to help reduce the devastating impact tobacco has on so many lives. Our research shows that retailers do not need to fear this measure designed to protect children from tobacco marketing.”

Read more: Putting tobacco out of sight helps – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Putting-tobacco-out-of-sight-helps/articleshow/6980955.cms#ixzz16BxytmzH

The rate of illegal tobacco product sales to minors in Calabasas dipped from 35 percent in 2009 to seven percent this year, according to a report presented at the City Council meeting on Wednesday. The decreased number might be a result of the city’s adoption of the Tobacco Retailer’s Registration Program in July last year.

Out of the 14 retailers that sell tobacco products such as cigarettes in Calabasas, three—Ralphs on Commons Way, Village Market on Las Virgenes Road and California Quick Mart on Agoura Road—were found to have sold them to minors in the last 12 months. In the year before the adoption of the ordinance, five retailers had violated the law.

“The store manager of Ralphs said although this was a costly mistake, in the long run they felt it was positive learning experience and gave them the motivation to properly train their employees and build a responsible establishment,” said Associate Planner Michael Klein, who presented the report to the council.

The ordinance requires all retailers that want to sell tobacco products to register with the city before doing so. It also prohibits retailers from selling tobacco products to minors. Those that fail to comply are subject to a $1,000 fine and having their business licenses revoked, and will not be allowed to sell tobacco products for a specific period of time.

“State law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to minors, however it only penalizes the person who actually sold the tobacco product and not the business owner,” Klein said. “This means business owners are not held accountable for their employees’ actions, and hence they may not be concerned with taking proper precautions to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors.”

The city’s ordinance, on the other hand, by revoking a business’ license passes the responsibility of compliance on to the owner.

“We want to educate local business owners that the city takes this issue of selling tobacco products to minors seriously. Each time an owner renews his or her registration, we inform them on the key aspects of the ordinance and remind them that they will be monitored by explorer deputies aged below 18, posing as decoys and periodic compliance checks,” said Klein.

He said local sheriff’s deputies do compliance checks and sting operations at stores in Calabasas as well as in Agoura Hills because they often get complaints from parents in that area about stores that are selling tobacco to minors. “However, in Agoura Hills and unincorporated areas outside Calabasas, the store clerk gets penalized, not the owner, because the compliance checks are done under state law,” Klein said.

He said the data collected so far did not show a consistent pattern in terms of where these violations take place in terms of proximity to schools or other areas. There is no pattern as to what kinds of establishments have violated the ordinance. He said they could be big or small anywhere in the city, and may be a liquor store, gas station, supermarket or pharmacy.

Police cited a local business Saturday for selling cigarettes to an underage purchaser. The Fuel Spot, at 2 Grove St., faces administrative sanctions from the state Department of Revenue Service, which issues cigarette dealer licenses. The clerk who sold the cigarettes to the underage teen, Ali Jafri, 42, of Danielson, was given a $200 ticket. It was his first offense, police said.

Putnam police sent underage youths into 14 downtown stores to try to buy cigarettes Saturday as part of a compliance check, and all but The Fuel Spot passed.
Stores are not permitted to sell tobacco products to anyone younger than 18.

Despite the efforts of the Government, nearly 10 percent minors between 15 and 17 consume tobacco in some form and most of them are able to purchase tobacco products. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey in India, in spite of a ban on public smoking, nearly 29 percent of Indians are exposed to second-hand smoke outside their house while half faced it at their homes. Among daily tobacco users, 60 percent consumed tobacco within half an hour of waking up.

According to the survey, 34.6 percent of adults use tobacco in some form, out of which 47.9 percent are male members of society and 20.3 percent are females. About five in ten adults (52.3 percent) are exposed to passive smoking at home and 29.0 percent at public places- mainly in public transport and restaurants.
Average age at initiation of tobacco use was 17.8 with 25.8 percent of females starting tobacco use before the age of 15.
Five in ten current smokers (46.6 percent) and users of smokeless tobacco (45.2 percent) planned to quit or at least thought of quitting. Nearly two in three adults (64.5 percent) noticed advertisement or promotion of tobacco products. Three in five current tobacco users (61.1 percent) noticed the health warning on the tobacco packages and one in three current tobacco users (31.5 percent) thought of quitting tobacco because of the warning label.
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad released the Global Adult Tobacco survey and called for a jihad against the use of tobacco which causes nearly 0.9 million deaths in India every year. Majority of the cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic lung diseases are directly attributable to tobacco consumption. Almost 40 percent of tuberculosis deaths in the country are associated with the habit of smoking.
Azad said, “We cannot indefinitely tolerate a public health hazard in the name of protecting livelihoods. While livelihood of tobacco growing farmers cannot be endangered, we must work towards moving farmers and farm workers out of the tobacco industry.”