|
|
|
|
Two women aged 21 and 30, have been arrested after suspected illegally imported cigarettes and tobacco worth £20,000 were seized in Peterborough.
Officers carried out six warrants across Peterborough on Monday 22 June and found about 3,000 packs of tobacco and cigarettes from a flat and a shop in Fitzwilliam Street.
Officers arrested the women on suspicion of selling counterfeit products, and both remain in custody at Thorpe Wood Police Station.
Source: Peterborough Telegraph, 22 June 2020
|
|
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on new university graduates in China to learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic that health is the foundation of social and economic development.
While delivering a commencement speech by video link to the class of 2020 at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing on Sunday, he said: "My hope is that the defining crisis of our age will likewise remind all people that the best way forward, the only way forward is together.
"COVID-19 is teaching us many lessons, and chief among them is that health is not a luxury item. It is the foundation of social and economic development."
The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It has exposed the political divisions and the social and economic inequalities of our world, Ghebreyesus added.
"All countries have been affected, rich and poor, large and small. The pandemic will shape the world for decades to come, and it will shape your lives and careers too."
Ghebreyesus said countries spend billions treating lung cancer instead of stopping the scourge of tobacco, treating obesity, diabetes, and heart disease instead of promoting healthy diets, treating injuries instead of making roads safer and treating depression instead of promoting mental health. He called on countries to make a crucial shift, to focus on promoting and protecting health, rather than only treating disease.
"It's reminding us that we are one humanity. We share the same planet, the same DNA, the same hopes, dreams, and fears. It is reminding us that none of us [is] safe until all of us are safe, that a healthier world is a safer world, and that health is not a cost, it is an investment in our common future."
Source: China Daily, 23 June 2020
|
|
People are buying e-cigarettes and e-liquid refills at extraordinary rates after the Australian government announced it would ban the importation of most e-cigarettes from 1st July.
From 1st July, vapes and refills containing nicotine will have to be imported by doctors or medical suppliers via a courier or cargo service with express permission from the Department of Health. Importing the equipment through international mail will not be allowed. The prohibition will last 12 months while the government conducts a public consultation on the regulation of nicotine products by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. A decision by the Therapeutic Goods Administration is expected in early 2021.
In response, e-cigarette users have started stockpiling from Shosha, a supplier in New Zealand, to ensure they get their products before the 1st July deadline. Shosha, which is New Zealand’s leading retailer of vaping supplies, recorded a 130% spike in sales from Australia since the announcement.
Nabhik Gupta, Operations Manager of Shosha, said: “New Zealand has a lower rate of smoking than Australia and has a different viewpoint to vaping when it comes to legislation that aims to lower combustible cigarette smoking.”
Source: Daily Mail, 23 June 2020
|
|
According to a new study, smoking cessation messages that emphasise the impact on children and those with outcomes focused on respiratory health, cancer, or general health rank as most important by smokers who are parents.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia conducted a cross-sectional discrete choice experiment in which parent smokers rated 26 messages designed to encourage them to begin cessation treatment. The messages varied based on who was featured (child, parent, or family), whether the message was gain or loss- framed, and the outcome included. Participants included 180 parent smokers attending primary care visits with their children.
The researchers found that messages focusing on respiratory illness, cancer, or general health outcomes were consistently ranked highest while the financial benefits of quitting were the lowest ranked. No meaningful influence on rankings was seen for gain versus loss- framing.
The authors concluded by saying: “future studies should be used to identify the best methods to deliver these messages to parent smokers, either through clinical practice or additional outreach approaches, and evaluate their impact on parent quit rates.”
Source: Medical Xpress, 22 June 2020
See also: Journal of the American Academic of Pediatrics - Parent Preferences for Pediatric Clinician Messaging to Promote Smoking Cessation Treatment
|
|
A new study has found that smokers who scored higher in numeracy were more likely than others to say they intended to quit smoking.
The research involved 696 adult smokers in the United States who participated online. The study included a short standardised test measuring numeracy. Participants then viewed eight different cigarette warning labels, four times each. The warning labels had various images, such as a cartoon gravestone or a photo of a damaged lung. Each label also included a government mandated text warning (such as “Smoking can kill you”) paired with risk probability information for smokers and non-smokers.
At various points, participants were asked to rate their emotional reactions to each label, the credibility of each label and the personal relevance of each label. Either immediately after the experiment or six weeks later, the participants answered a variety of questions designed to see how much they remembered of the risk information they were given. They were also asked questions gauging their perception of how high their risk was in relation to smoking and to rate how likely they thought they were to quit smoking in the next 30 days or the next year.
Findings from the study showed that participants who scored higher in the numeracy test tended to have a better memory for the risks involved in smoking, including the statistics. This was linked to higher risk perceptions and intentions to quit.
Brittany Shoots-Reinhard, the lead author of the study and research assistant professor in psychology at The Ohio State University, said, the results suggest that health officials and policymakers should evaluate how they present risk information to smokers.
Reinhard recommended the use of simple infographics and similar devices to help less numerate smokers better understand the risks. She went on to say: “We want people to understand the risk information in order to make more informed decisions. Our results suggest that may help them decide to quit.”
Source: Scien Mag, 22 June 2020
See also: American Psychology Association - Numeracy and memory for risk probabilities and risk outcomes depicted on cigarette warning labels.
|
|
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here.
For more information call 020 7404 0242, email [email protected] or visit www.ash.org.uk
ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
