¿Por qué nosotros no? Acción Ciudadana por la Salud y el cambio de la Ley Española de Tabaco

... Jean Ubial said.

Most of the victims also are among the country's poorest, putting a strain on the already limited funds for public health care, she said. About 47 percent of smokers are adult men, but the number of smokers among women and children is growing.

Dr. Matthew Myers, president of the U.S.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, warned Philippine senators that if they passed a watered-down version of the proposed law, "you are literally trading the lives of Filipino children for political compromise."

The House has passed legislation raising taxes on both cigarettes and alcohol. After the 23-member Senate finalizes its own version of the legislation, a joint legislative committee will craft the final form before it is signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III.

Aquino is a smoker but has backed the legislation as a way to "minimize vices and raise funds for health care."

The House bill is projected to raise cigarette tax revenues from 25 billion pesos ($581 million) to about 33 billion pesos ($767 million) in the first year it is implemented.

Ubial says the House version of the legislation would reduce the number of smokers by 170,000 per year, based on experiences of countries that have passed similar laws.

PMFTC Inc., which controls more than 90 percent of the Philippine cigarette market, has called the propose taxes `'unreasonable," saying it would encourage smuggling of cheap cigarettes and undermine the government's revenue goals.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07/27/who-urges-philippine-senate-to-defy-tobacco-lobby-and-boost-cigarette-taxes/#ixzz21s8D98Ur

... campus.

“We hear from colleges they’re there to educate and raise the next generation of leaders, and that it’s the responsible thing to do,” says Bronson Frick, associate director of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, based in Berkeley, Calif.

Some colleges have never allowed smoking for religious reasons. But about a decade ago, some that permitted it began to impose bans on indoor smoking that also governed – coinciding with similar workplace laws – how far from entrances smokers had to be. The concept of the smoke-free campus, which prohibits smoking even outside, marks the trend’s latest evolution.

In total, about 770 colleges are now smoke-free, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Some take that policy a step further by forbidding all forms of tobacco, including chewing tobacco. Because the organization relies on self-reported information, the actual number is probably higher, Mr. Frick says.

While exact data remains murky, one-third to one-half of colleges nationwide have likely implemented a policy or are weighing the option, says Ty Patterson, executive director of the National Center for Tobacco Policy, based in Springfield, Mo.

Policies barring smoking and tobacco have reached a “near tipping point,” says Mr. Patterson, who as the vice president of student affairs instituted one of the first smoke-free campuses in the country, at Ozarks Technical Community College in 2003.

The smoke-free movement on college campuses received a major boost in 2006 when a report by the US Surgeon General flagged secondhand smoke as risky at any exposure level, Patterson says.

The bans have not been without controversy, especially from smokers’ rights groups.

“Institutions for learning exist for the purpose of education, not indoctrination – especially where the students are of adult age,” wrote Audrey Silk, founder of New York Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, in an email.

Some students are also questioning the role of universities to regulate completely legal behavior.

Audrey Imes, a junior at Ohio University in Athens, doubted whether the school could justifiably implement the Board of Regents’ proposed tobacco policy. When she smokes on campus, she says, it’s a personal decision.

“I have a right to be a smoker,” Ms. Imes says, adding that smoking would probably be pushed to the peripheries of campus, in places like bars and off-campus apartments.

But smokers are fighting an uphill battle.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland green-lighted its policy out of a concern for the health dangers of smoking and a consensus that the smoking bans already in place at three of its colleges were a “nonissue,” USM spokesman Mike Lurie says.

“Presidents of institutions where a campus-wide ban had not been in place were looking with admiration at other campuses that had gone in that direction,” Mr. Lurie says.

About 45 million, or 19.3 percent, of all American adults smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Out of 27,774 students surveyed at 44 two- and four-year colleges, 4.6 percent smoked every day in the past 30 days, a 2011 American College Health Association report found. About 14 percent smoked at least once in the past 30 days.

Under most of the bans, violations yield light, if any, punitive action. Repeat offenders sometimes face university disciplinary measures, which differ among schools.

Enforcement is usually not heavy-handed either. It mostly comes from the students themselves, many of whom just don’t want to be around cigarette smoke.

At the University of Kentucky in Lexington, a group of faculty and students, part of the Tobacco-Free Take Action volunteer group, approach smokers and request they put out their cigarette. They also offer resources to help the smoker quit.

“You have to create an environment where violating the policy just isn’t cool,” says Ellen Hahn, director of the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy, based in Lexington. “It’s not what’s expected.”

Kentucky has one of the highest rates of adult smoking in the county – 25 percent – and the campus ban has had a positive impact on efforts by some to quit. Since the ban, 11 campus tobacco users per month on average have sought to quit smoking, compared with 3 before the ban, Ms. Hahn says.

... were regular smokers.

Mr Harper said 70 per cent of Victorians aged 18 to 29 had never smoked, putting the state closer to having ''a smoke-free generation''.

''We now have a generation of younger people progressing from childhood into adulthood who've never known anything different from campaigns on TV and smoke-free areas,'' he said. ''Some have never known what it's like to enter a smoky pub or have smoking in the workplace.''

Quit Victoria executive director Fiona Sharkie said there was no room for complacency, and warned that smoking rates could creep up again if tobacco reform measures slowed. ''Nearly 4000 Victorians die every year from smoking-related illnesses, more than twice the combined annual toll from alcohol, drugs and car accidents,'' she said.

''Tobacco control must remain a public health priority if we are to tackle Australia's smoking toll and prevent young people from taking up this deadly habit.''

Health Minister David Davis said smoking was the leading cause of avoidable illness and death, and it was important to ensure that children did not grow up to become smokers.

''To this end, we need to continue work to de-normalise smoking, this means providing more environments for our children that are free from smoking and making sure they understand the harmful and addictive nature of cigarettes,'' he said.

Mr Davis declined to say whether the government would introduce a statewide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.

Such measures are already in force, or due to be introduced, in every other state.

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/national/no-smoking-rules-starting-to-bite-figures-show-20120718-22aov.html#ixzz20z9iixPG

... were regular smokers.

Mr Harper said 70 per cent of Victorians aged 18 to 29 had never smoked, putting the state closer to having ''a smoke-free generation''.

''We now have a generation of younger people progressing from childhood into adulthood who've never known anything different from campaigns on TV and smoke-free areas,'' he said. ''Some have never known what it's like to enter a smoky pub or have smoking in the workplace.''

Quit Victoria executive director Fiona Sharkie said there was no room for complacency, and warned that smoking rates could creep up again if tobacco reform measures slowed. ''Nearly 4000 Victorians die every year from smoking-related illnesses, more than twice the combined annual toll from alcohol, drugs and car accidents,'' she said.

''Tobacco control must remain a public health priority if we are to tackle Australia's smoking toll and prevent young people from taking up this deadly habit.''

Health Minister David Davis said smoking was the leading cause of avoidable illness and death, and it was important to ensure that children did not grow up to become smokers.

''To this end, we need to continue work to de-normalise smoking, this means providing more environments for our children that are free from smoking and making sure they understand the harmful and addictive nature of cigarettes,'' he said.

Mr Davis declined to say whether the government would introduce a statewide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.

Such measures are already in force, or due to be introduced, in every other state.

Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/national/no-smoking-rules-starting-to-bite-figures-show-20120718-22aov.html#ixzz20z9iixPG

... fostering close ties with the academic community.

In December, a tobacco scientist who specializes in adding traditional Chinese herbs to cigarettes in an attempt to reduce their harmful effects was appointed to the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering in a move that was criticized by other academics, several of whom sent letters to the academy in protest.

Despite the many challenges that remain in stamping out tobacco use, anti-smoking activists welcomed the WHO award.

‘‘Among the government departments, the Health Ministry is the one that has made the biggest efforts in promoting tobacco control,’’ said Xu Guihua, vice president of the government-affiliated Chinese Association on Tobacco Control. ‘‘On many occasions, Minister Chen Zhu has told the public that tobacco is harmful and asked people to give up smoking. He also called on the government to step up tobacco control legislation.’’

Xu said China still needs to issue a national tobacco control plan, raise prices of cigarettes and better educate the public on the health risks of smoking.

She criticized the apparent conflict of interest in the dual role that China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration plays as both tobacco policymaker and overseer of the China National Tobacco Corp. — the world’s largest cigarette maker.

Health officials have warned that smoking-related deaths could hit 3 million per year by 2030 without greater efforts.

Last year’s certificate for anti-smoking efforts was awarded to Australian Attorney General Nicola Roxon, who as health minister led a campaign to make Australia the first country in the world to require cigarettes to be sold in plain packages with large, graphic warnings.

... (PM 2.5) has decreased from 233.3 µg/m³ before the law to 23.3 µg/m³ after the law. Now, it’s almost to the same level as outside air, which in Madrid was 19.13 µg/m³ in 2010.

3. The smoke-free law is working and its impact in the decrease of tobacco consumption is evident. In 2011, 500 million less cartons of tobacco were sold . Less tobacco means better public health.

4. Smokers support the law. There is a general satisfaction about its advantages and benefits, including among the smoking population, considering that 70% of them want to quit smoking.

5. More than 600,000 smokers quit for good in 2011. The smoke-free law will help millions of smokers quit without relapsing in the next few years.

6. Youth will start using tobacco less and later, since tobacco use in public places is no longer a norm. Youth are actually the most convinced as four out of five of them are extremely defensive of the smoke-free law.

7. Hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction have decreased more than 10% and childhood asthma admissions have reduced 15% in 2011 because people are no longer are exposed to secondhand smoke in public places. At the same time, the law has provoked a reduction of secondhand smoke exposure in the home, because of the health benefits that smoke-free places have.

8. In this time of financial crisis, this public health law gives us economic benefits through healthcare cost savings. Furthermore, the money that smokers once spent on cigarettes is now being spent on the consumption of other products and services that generate employment and benefit the common good.

9. The law has not had a negative impact on the hospitality industry or the tourism industry, which increased 7% in 2011. Economic activity and revenues were not affected more than in other sectors . Exactly 21,459 bars and restaurants and 5,313 hotels signed up for social security from October 2010 to October 2011. It’s time to stop using the smoke-free law as an easy excuse for the difficulties faced by some sectors of employment that the entire world is facing. PUBLIC HEALTH CANNOT BE NEGOTIATED. Spanish hospitality business owners have given an example of professionalism and civic responsibility by supporting both public health and the quality of their services through the compliance with this law.

10. The Spanish smoke-free law is a global model that is recognized and used as an example for laws in other countries. During 2011, the World Health Organization recognized the Spanish law and countries like Chile, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Brazil have used it as a reference in the regulation of their smoke-free spaces. More will do the same in 2012.

11. Doctors, pharmacists, psychologists, nurses, and all of the healthcare industry in its entirety, along with the 260 organizations that represent healthcare workers and other businesses that are working with the initiative PORQUE NOSOTROS SÍ will join together once again to defend the successes brought by this law. We know that weakening the law would provoke a decrease in its effectiveness and public health benefit, first affecting the hospitality workers, but then our youth, pregnant women, patients and others that would watch their state of health worsen.

12. A decline in the average short stay in psychiatric inpatient units. The average stay is now 2.7 days and there has also been a reduced dosage of the antipsychotics provided.

13. TripAdvisor users prefer smoke-free. A TripAdvisor Surrey estimates that the support for smoke-free spaces in Spain has increased from 72 % en 2011 a un 83 % en 2012

14. No one – smokers, non-smokers, nor the rest of the world who has looked to us as an example - would understand us taking a step back on this public health win after the law took effect in Spain in 2011. The fight of the people and the public opinion will be the major opponents in any attempt to weaken the law.

These are fourteen of the many reasons to not weaken the law that has already done so much good for the Spanish community. There is continuous pressure from the hospitality and gaming industries that are working with the tobacco industry to roll back the law. They are asking to go back to the Tobacco Law 2005, which had few restrictions and failed to protect public health.

Because of this, we are asking all of the organizations that are involved with the tobacco control movement or protecting public health join our initiative in the defense of the New Spanish Model for Smoke-Free Spaces. This law, called 42/2010, was passed to protect the public health of everyone.

We ask you that you send us messages of support from anywhere in the world. Please include the name of your organization, your webpage to contact you, and the number of members of your association.

The grassroots movement PORQUE NOSOTROS SÍ! and the other health, public, and private organizations that support these facts are ready to continue down this path, hand-in-hand with the government, to maintain the smoke-free law.

Position Statement of the grassroots movement PORQUÉ NOSOTROS SÍ !