EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN - EU9821 01 JUNE 1998 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Globalink's European News Bulletin follows ...

Robert Weissman
Essential Information			|   Internet:	rob@essential.org



EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN - EU9821 01 JUNE 1998

CONTENTS:

EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

FINLAND: Half an hour in a smoky room 'weakens heart'.
FRANCE: Number of smokers drops.
NORWAY: Children cause change in smoking habits.
SPAIN: Rise in illegal cigarettes in Vizcaya.
SPAIN: Tabacalera's virtual supermarkets.
UK: Friends, not stars, tempt young to smoke.
UK: Ministers back out of ban on public smoking.
UK: Revealed: the nicotine fix.

EASTERN EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

CROATIA: Tobacco boost benefits duty free.
RUSSIA: Philip Morris starts construction in May.

INTERNATIONAL - GENERAL

INTERNATIONAL: 'Growing up without tobacco' - 
                World No-Tobacco Day 1998.


EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

FINLAND: Half an hour in a smoky room 'weakens heart'.

Researchers in Helsinki have documented evidence which suggests 
that spending half an hour in a room filled with tobacco smoke 
can weaken the body's defences against heart disease. The researchers, 
Dr Miia Valkonen and Dr Timo Kuusi, of the University of Helsinki,
measured the levels of antioxidants, including vitamin C, in the 
blood of 10 non-smokers. Antioxidants are needed to prevent damage 
by highly active oxygen radicals produced in the body by normal 
metabolic processes. The same measurements were then made after the 
non-smokers had spent half an hour in a room which had been used by 
smokers. The measurements revealed that the smoke caused a sharp 
fall in vitamin C levels, starting 90 minutes after exposure and
lasting for at least six hours. The levels fell by a third. Tests 
were also made of the capacity of all the blood's antioxidants, taken 
together. This fell by 31%. The researchers concluded that exposure 
to passive smoking damages the antioxidant defences. This enables 
free radicals to combine with cholesterol in the blood to create 
an oxidised form of cholesterol more inclined to stick to the blood 
vessel walls, causing narrowing of the arteries and prompting heart 
attacks. According to the two doctors, a non-smoker may be more 
vulnerable to second-hand tobacco smoke than a smoker, whose system 
has been adapted to cigarette smoke. Dr Kuusi said: "We found that 
a short period of passive smoking changed cholesterol metabolism,
favouring progression of atherosclerosis. The cardiovascular system 
is extremely sensitive to the chemicals in environmental tobacco 
smoke." The study is reported in the medical journal Circulation.

Source: The Times 26/5/98


FRANCE: Number of smokers drops.

The French Committee for Health Education carried out a survey on 
the number of smokers in France in May 1997. The results revealed 
that the number of smokers dropped 9.6% between 1976 and 1997, and 
now represents 34.4% of the total population aged 18 years and older.
In the 18 to 34 age range, half of people smoke, but the age range 
which has the highest number of smokers were adults in the 50 to 64 
age range. The number of women smokers rose and now represents 29.5% 
of the total number of women, while men's smoking has decreased, 
even though 40% are smokers. 

Source: Le Quotidien du MZdecin (XNV) 19 May 1998 p.38
Language: FRENCH No. 06628106
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


NORWAY: Children cause change in smoking habits.

According to the results of a doctoral thesis by Willy B. Eriksen
of the University of Oslo, in Norway more and more people give up 
smoking when they have children. Dr Eriksen's study involved more 
than 1,000 families with children in Oslo. The study found that
almost 10% of parents gave up smoking during the baby's first year 
of life whereas only less than 1% of those who have no children
managed to do the same. And those parents who were unable to give 
up smoking, seldom smoked indoors or in the child's presence. 
Almost 70% of families with children under the age of one year 
said they had stopped smoking indoors and almost 25% said they 
did not smoke in the child's presence. The study also found that 
the proportion of men who gave up smoking was higher than that of 
women - many women refrained from smoking during pregnancy but 
resumed the habit after the birth. 

Source: Aftenposten (AF) 15 May 1998 p.03 
Language: NORWEGIAN No. 06628397
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


SPAIN: Rise in illegal cigarettes in Vizcaya.

In 1998 the Spanish Civil Guard has confiscated, thus far, 
approximately 1.5mn packs of Virginia tobacco cigarettes in the 
region of Vizcaya, nearly three times as much as the total amount 
confiscated throughout 1997.

Source:El Correo Espanol (YWL) 18 May 1998 p.4 
Language: SPANISH No. 06628056
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


SPAIN: Tabacalera's virtual supermarkets.

Spanish cigarette company Tabacalera and NCR are working on a 
project to install terminals throughout the 16,000 official 
tobacconists in Spain so as to offer more products through a 
virtual supermarket scheme. Although Tabacalera is declining 
to comment on the project, it is known that NCR is developing 
the electronic application based on Intranet technology. Products 
offered will range from CD's to small appliances. The terminals
will be similar to cash-points with a touch screen showing the 
catalogue of products. The project has yet to be discussed with 
the individual tobacconists and the board of directors of Tabacalera.

Source: La Gaceta de los Negocios (ZDA) 19 May 1998 p.15 
Language: SPANISH No. 06628934
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


UK: Friends, not stars, tempt young to smoke.

A survey commissioned by the smoking cessation charity Quit 
and Bella magazine found that teenagers were more likely to take 
up smoking because of peer pressure rather than because their 
favourite celebrity was a smoker. Girls said they smoked to attract 
boys while boys said they smoked to appear mature. Four in ten said
friends of their own age were the biggest influence in lighting 
their first cigarette. The study also found that children as young
as seven and eight claimed to be regular smokers. Nearly one in 
three seven to ten year olds admitted they may have been influenced 
to take up the habit by seeing older brothers, sisters or parents 
smoking. The survey involved 1,000 seven to 16-year-olds.

Source: The Mirror 27/5/98; Daily Mail 27/5/98; Evening Standard 26/5/98


UK: Ministers back out of ban on public smoking.

It is now almost certain that the Government will not bring in 
legislation to reduce smoking in public places and will instead 
urge proprietors to bring in their own voluntary codes in an attempt
to cut the risks from passive smoking. It seems that the Government 
decided against implementing legal restrictions in order to avoid 
being accused of creating a 'nanny state'. The forthcoming White 
Paper on smoking reduction will outline policies aimed at stopping
children from taking up smoking, and at persuading adults to give 
up smoking. Proprietors of public places such as pubs and restaurants 
will be urged to set aside smoke-free areas, and they will be warned 
that their staff can take action under the existing Health and Safety 
at Work Act to insist on a safe place to work. The proposals on 
public places falls short of ASH's demands for tougher legislation 
to reinforce the Act in order to make it easier for employees to 
take their employers to court if they were exposed to passive smoking. 
ASH spokeswoman, Amanda Sandford, said: "We would be disappointed if 
there is nothing to further restrict smoking in the workplace and in 
public places.  There are ways in which the Government can do more 
without having to introduce legislation. They do need seriously to 
look at the current workplace legislation to make it clear to people 
that employers do have an obligation to protect their staff." The 
World Health Organization expressed disappointment at the British 
Government's decision. 

Source: The Independent 26/5/98


UK: Revealed: the nicotine fix.

Gallaher has admitted developing a process to add extra nicotine to
cigarettes in order to keep smokers "satisfied". The process involved 
adding more nicotine to cigarettes without blending in a higher leaf.
Invisible micron-sized dots full of nicotine were sprayed on to the 
inside of cigarette papers. As the dots were exposed to moisture in 
the tobacco, or to the burning tip of the cigarette, they broke down 
and released an extra dose of nicotine. Representatives of Gallaher 
are likely to be called on to further explain the process in court 
as part of the on-going UK group action filed against the tobacco 
company and Imperial Tobacco. Gallaher maintains that it never 
marketed the cigarettes and that the process was only experimental. 
But, in the 1980s the company contracted a chemical company, JD 
Campbell and Sons Ltd, to produce the nicotine salt used in the
micron dot method. Former employees of Campbell claim that about 
30 batches containing enough nicotine to make 400 million cigarettes 
were produced. Gallaher has not provided production figures, or 
explained what happened to the cigarettes that were made. Martyn 
Day, the lead lawyer for the 53 smokers claiming compensation against 
the tobacco industry, said: "it is difficult to understand why they
were trying to keep nicotine at a certain level if they do not accept 
that smokers need that level of nicotine to maintain their addiction". 
Gallaher admitting to developing the process said the extra nicotine
was needed to keep smokers of low tar cigarettes 'satisfied'.

Source: Independent on Sunday 24/5/98 


EASTERN EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

CROATIA: Tobacco boost benefits duty free.

The Croatian duty-free operator Zracna Luka Pula has benefited 
from increased sales of its tobacco products at Pula airport. 
These account for 31% of sales while 27% were from alcohol and 20% 
fragrances. Passenger numbers at the airport have been four times 
that of the 1996 level. 

Source: Duty-Free News International (ZCV) 1-14 May 1998 p.39 
Language: ENGLISH No.06628920
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


RUSSIA: Philip Morris starts construction in May.

The US-based tobacco company Philip Morris, which runs a cigarette 
plant, Philip Morris Neva, in St. Petersburg, will officially start 
construction of its new US$ 350 mn tobacco factory in the St. 
Petersburg Region at the end of May 1998. Unlike the plant in St.
Petersburg, the new tobacco factory will have a complete production
cycle, from initial tobacco processing, cutting, drying to cigarettes 
production. The factory will be located near the village of Gorelovo, 
Lomonosov District of St. Petersburg. 

Source: Delovoi Peterburg (ZEH) 18 May 1998 p.4 
Language: RUSSIAN No. 06628860
Source: Information Access Company 28/5/98


INTERNATIONAL - GENERAL

INTERNATIONAL: 'Growing up without tobacco' - 
World No-Tobacco Day 1998.

This year's World No Tobacco Day (31 May 1998) was dedicated to 
children and was marked under the theme "Growing Up Without Tobacco".
To mark the day, Dr Fernando Antezana, Deputy Director-General ad 
interim of the World Health Organization (WHO), stressed at a press 
conference that: "unless tough actions are taken immediately, the 
tobacco epidemic will prematurely claim the lives of about 250 
million children and young people alive today". He warned that 
in many countries, tobacco use is rising among young people,
some of the data highlighted by the WHO indicates that:

Smoking prevalence among US high school students has increased 
from 28% in 1991 to 36% in 1997. And smoking can be just as prevalent 
among youth in developing countries. A 1996 survey revealed that in 
one region of Argentina, that an estimated 40% of adolescents aged 
13-18 were smokers.

More than 80% of American youth who smoke start smoking before the 
age of eighteen. In many Latin American countries 75% or more of 
smoking initiation occurs between the ages of 14 and 17.

Even trying cigarettes is dangerous. One-third to one-half of 
adolescents who experiment with cigarettes go on to become regular
smokers. One prospective study found that among those who experimented 
with cigarettes, about one-half had become regular smokers within 
one year.

At the press conference, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
the WHO emphasised that in order to ensure that the health of 
children be effectively protected and promoted, tough decisions 
against tobacco are needed, including a total ban on tobacco 
advertising and the adoption of the international framework convention 
on tobacco control.

In the UK, research by the Health Education Authority (HEA) to 
mark the day revealed that, school children are almost three times 
as likely to smoke if both their parents smoke. Brothers and sisters
have an even greater influence on smoking behaviour. The research,
entitled: Teenage Smoking Attitudes, Office of National Statistics
on behalf of the HEA, 1997, shows that pupils are four times as 
likely to be smokers if they have siblings who smoke, compared with 
those who have no brothers and sisters who smoke. HEA Smoking Campaign 
Manager, Katie Aston, said: "The best thing that parents can do for 
the health of their children is to quit smoking. There are 12 million 
ex-smokers in Britain, giving up can be hard but if they can do it,
so can you!"

Source: World Health Organization Press Release 28/5/98; Health 
Education Authority News Release 29/5/98

!# ---------------
!# GLOBALink EUROPE  -  Tobacco-Control News Bulletin  -  Weekly
!# Editor:   Bunmi Akinade - ASH UK - mailto:ashuk@globalink.org
!# Support:  Ruben Israel   - UICC - mailto:israel@globalink.org
!# ---------------
!# Join  G L O B A L i n k  !  http://www.globalink.org/glob/appl.html
!# ---------------