EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN - EU9834 14 SEPTEMBER 1998

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Globalink's European News Bulletin follows.

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

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!#  GLOBALink Tobacco - Weekly European News Bulletin
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EUROPEAN NEWS BULLETIN - EU9834 14 SEPTEMBER 1998


CONTENTS:

EUROPE - GENERAL

EUROPE: Tar concentrations in cigarettes and carcinogen
content.
EUROPE: Women's magazines and tobacco in Europe.

EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

FRANCE: SEITA closes Chateauroux cigarette
plant.
SPAIN: Tabacalera in distribution spin-off plan.
SWEDEN: Coronary mortality falls by 50% in
Norrland.
UK: British court allows BAT Zurich merger.
UK: Imperial unveils ultra low-tar L&B.
UK: Nicotine absorption and dependence in unlicensed
lozenges available over the counter.
UK: Trends in smoking during pregnancy in England,
1992-7: quota sampling surveys.

INTERNATIONAL - GENERAL

WORLD-WIDE: Tobacco 'the cause of rich and poor health gap'.


EUROPE - GENERAL

EUROPE: Tar concentrations in cigarettes and carcinogen
content.

Tar (and nicotine) content of cigarettes has
decreased in developed countries for the past
five decades, as measured by the Federal Trade
Commission method, which ignores the qualitative
nature of tar. This decrease seems, credibly,
to have contributed partly to the decline in
total lung-cancer mortality in men in these
countries. A swing towards an increased
relative and absolute risk of adenocarcinoma
has, however, been seen. This change has been
attributed, among other possible causes, to
increased concentrations of
4-(methylnitrosamine)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-(butanone)
(NNK), consequent to increased concentrations of
nitrates in tobacco. Since the late 1950s, a
trend analysis has been published of the
changing content in a single unnamed brand of
non-filter US cigarette of two known
carcinogens, Benz-a-Pyrene (BaP) and NNK. BaP
decreased by about 50% between 1965 and 1975,
whereas NNK increased by a similar percentage
between the late seventies and the early
nineties. NNK is known to stimulate
adenocarcinoma in animals and tends to be
present in higher proportions in cigarettes made
from tobacco high in nitrates. That an industry
would, and would be allowed to, increase
concentrations of a known carcinogen while
decreasing total tar content seems strange. In
Europe, companies have been required to decrease
the quantity of tar, but there are no
qualitative controls. Nigel Gray, et al,
propose that the content of cigarette smoke
should be regulated by the establishment of
upper limits for known carcinogens or toxins. A
basic method can be illustrated with test data
from Polish cigarettes for NNK and
N'-nitrosonornicotine. Mocne, Marlboro, and
Camel greatly exceed the median for these two
carcinogens. Existing brands could be tested
for a selection of known carcinogenic substances
(eg, NNK). For substances with substantial
variability, the median concentrations could be
established as a target and manufacturers given
time to adapt to it. Brands unable to conform
could be excluded from the country's market.
Health Departments should set upper limits, and
exclude products that fail to reach these
targets, as has been successfully achieved with
lead in petrol and emissions from car exhausts.
Such controls will not result in the emergence
of a safe cigarette, but the situation will be
more controlled than at present. (Author
abstract.)

Source: The Lancet 1998; 352: 787-788 05/9/98


EUROPE: Women's magazines and tobacco in Europe.

Smoking kills at least 214,000 women in Europe
each year. Smoking among young women is
increasing in many countries. Women's magazines
are one of the main ways that the tobacco
industry targets women. These concerns prompted
health experts in 17 countries to collaborate in
the largest ever survey of the tobacco policies
of the most widely read women's magazines in
Europe. The survey documented information
specifically on tobacco advertising, coverage
given to smoking and health, the use of smoking
images in editorial pages, and if any changes
had taken place since a similar study in 1990.
A total of 111 magazines were contacted between
1996 and 1997. The 83 that replied had a
collective readership of more than 47 million
women. The results of the survey showed that
women in many countries saw positive images of
smoking in tobacco advertisements, which were
accepted by most magazines, and in fashion and
feature articles. Legislation and voluntary
agreements played an important part in
determining the extent, content, and therefore,
likely impact of these advertisements. Many
advertisements seemed to be designed to appeal
to women, especially in countries with few
restrictions on tobacco advertising such as the
Netherlands and Germany. Only four magazines
voluntarily refused such advertising. The
publication of tobacco advertisements in these
magazines provided tobacco companies with a
direct way of targeting women, and gave the
advertisements some credibility because of the
image of the magazine. In addition, magazines
that took tobacco advertising were also less
likely to have given any major coverage to
health issues related to smoking. The survey
noted that under the terms of the approved
European Union tobacco advertising directive,
magazines not taking tobacco advertising may
feel freer to encourage their readers not to
start smoking or to stop smoking. However, the
directive will not remove all positive images of
smoking. Cigarettes in fashion spreads for
example, validate young people's belief that
smoking is a normal part of everyday life and
associate smoking with attributes that young
people value. However, some magazines, in
Sweden for example, were taking a comprehensive
and constructive approach to smoking and health.
 Whether more magazines take a similar stand
will be a major factor in helping women to give
up or not take up smoking. The responsibility
for ending this dependency on tobacco
advertising lies not just with the magazine editors. 
(Truncated author abstract.)

Source: The Lancet 1998; 352: 786-787 05/9/98


EUROPE - SPECIFIC COUNTRIES

FRANCE: SEITA closes Chateauroux cigarette
plant.

The French tobacco company, SEITA, has closed
its Chateauroux (Indre) based cigarette
manufacturing plant which employed 277 staff.
The plant had produced 'brown' cigarettes for
more than a century, demand for which continues
to fall. Source: La Tribune (XOT) 31 Aug 1998
p.20 Language: FRENCH No. 06679836

Source: Information Access Company 11/9/98


SPAIN: Tabacalera in distribution spin-off plan.

Tabacalara, Spain's largest cigarette
manufacturer and distributor, plans to sell off
its distribution subsidiary and list shares on
the stock market. Tabacalera was fully
privatised in April this year (1998). It is
currently responsible for distributing about 90
per cent of the cigarettes sold in Spain,
supplying the country's network of more than
15,000 licensed tobacconists. Representatives
of Tabacalera said that the new company,
provisionally named Logista, would initially be
a wholly owned subsidiary and take over all
Tabacalera's storage facilities, stocks and
import contracts. The move is subject to
official approval under Spain's new legal
framework for the tobacco sector.

Source: Financial Times 03/9/98
International Herald Tribune 03/9/98


SWEDEN: Coronary mortality falls by 50% in
Norrland.

According to the results of a WHO survey, over
the past ten years there has been a 50% decrease
in the mortality rate of men suffering from
heart attacks in the Norrland and VUsterbotten
regions in Sweden. The WHO MONICA survey made
comparisons between 38 centres around the world.
 Nowhere else did the coronary mortality rate
decrease as steeply as in the above-mentioned
areas in Sweden. According to Kjell Asplund of
the medical clinic of the university hospital of
Norrland, the main difference between the men
living in Norrland and the men living in the
other places studied in the survey was that so
few of them smoked. Changes in diet also
resulted in a reduction in these men's blood
cholesterol levels. Other factors of importance
in this context were preventive care and
adequate emergency health care. In Norrland,
the coronary mortality rate among men has been
declining by 7% a year. The corresponding
figure among women in VUsterbotten and Norrland
was two per cent. The difference was partly
ascribed to the fact that the number of female
smokers in the region was higher than that of
male smokers. Source: Vestmanlands LUns
Tidning (XVN)  27 Aug 1998 p.32 Language:
SWEDISH No. 06680088

Source: Information Access Company 11/9/98


UK: British court allows BAT Zurich merger.

Following the decision by a UK high court to
sanction the merger of BAT Industries' financial
services subsidiaries with Switzerland's Zurich
Group, British American Tobacco Plc began
trading this month (September) as a stand alone
tobacco company. The merged financial insurance
division is listed on the London Stock Exchange
under the name Allied Zurich. The multi-million
pound deal had been challenged by US healthcare
insurance group Blue Cross and Blue Shield, on
the grounds that the merger could minimalise
compensation for policy holders in US tobacco
litigation cases. In three cases in the US, a
consortium of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health
care groups is seeking billions of dollars in
damages for treating smoking-related illnesses
from several tobacco companies including BAT.
Vincent Fitzpatrick, a lawyer in New York,
representing the health care group, said, "We
asked the court not to sanction the scheme
because it would remove two-thirds of BAT's
assets beyond the reach of a prospective
judgement." The consortium is considering
whether to appeal the British court's decision.
Commenting on the future of British American
Tobacco, its Chief Executive Officer, Martin
Broughton said, "The message is that we are a
tobacco company, and that we will invest in
tobacco and believe it can be an attractive
industry. With this move the frame work will be
in place for us to be more aggressive." A
spokesman for ASH noted that, "An important
effect of the demerger is to shield a
substantial raft of tobacco profits from ongoing
and future litigation in the US".

Source: The Times 07/9/98
Wall Street Journal (Europe) 07/9/98
Sunday Telegraph 06/9/98
Wall Street Journal (Europe) 04/9/98
Financial Times 04/9/98


UK: Imperial unveils ultra low-tar L&B.

On the 1st of October 1998 Imperial Tobacco is
launching an 'ultra-low' variant of its Lambert
and Butler economy cigarette brand. The Lambert
and Butler Ultra is designed to compete with
Gallaher's Silk Cut Ultra which has been heavily
advertised this year.  Imperial is also
competing on cost by pricing the Lambert and
Butler Ultra at L2.99 for 20, significantly less
than the L3.42 recommended retail price for the
Silk Cut low tar version. The launch will be
supported by a press advertising campaign
created by advertising agency, Mustoe Merriman
Herring Levy. Imperial is aware that the budget
sector accounts for about a third of smokers and
has shown notable growth in recent years.

Source: Marketing Week 03/9/98


UK: Nicotine absorption and dependence in unlicensed
lozenges available over the counter.

A study based in the UK demonstrated the
nicotine absorption and dependence potential
from unlicensed nicotine containing lozenges. A
single case report of dependence on nicotine
lozenges, plus measurements of nicotine levels
before and after consumption of eight nicotine
lozenges over 2 hours in volunteers were
analysed. The study took place in a hospital
Smokers' Clinic. Participants were one male
patient suffering from schizophrenia who had
consumed 150 "Stoppers" lozenges per day for the
previous 5 years, plus seven non-smoker
volunteers (Stoppers lozenges, Pfizer Consumer
Healthcare, Alton, UK). Blood nicotine
concentration was measured. The results showed
that the patient's low expired carbon monoxide
level (5 p.p.m) and high plasma nicotine (32
ng/ml) and cotinine levels (947 ng/ml) were
consistent with heavy lozenge consumption. The
non-smoker volunteers obtained nicotine
concentrations of around 11 ng/ml by consuming
eight Stoppers lozenges over 2 hours. Other
brands of nicotine lozenges produced lower
initial levels, but also produced delayed
intestinal absorption and vomiting after food
consumption. The study concluded that nicotine
lozenges were a potential aid to smoking
cessation but their safety, efficacy and abuse
potential remained to be properly evaluated.
(Author abstract.)

Source: Addiction 1998; 93(9): 1427-1431


UK: Trends in smoking during pregnancy in England,
1992-7: quota sampling surveys.

The dangers of smoking during pregnancy are
widely established. The Health of the Nation
set the following target of "at least a third of
women smokers to stop smoking at the start of
their pregnancy by the year 2000". As part of a
smoking and pregnancy initiative, the Health
Education Authority for England carried out a
series of annual surveys of pregnant women
starting in 1992 to measure knowledge,
attitudes, and behaviour in relation to smoking
during pregnancy. Seven surveys of pregnant
women were carried out. Surveys were carried
out following press advertising aimed at
reducing smoking in pregnancy. Sample sizes
from 1992 to 1997 were 625, 606, 526, 1,039,
1,002, 1,004, and 1,018. The results revealed
that the prevalence of smoking in 1997 was
similar to that in 1992. The highest rate among
younger pregnant women reflected, in part,
differences in the social class composition of
each age group: around three quarters of women
aged 15-24 were from manual and unemployed
groups compared with around three fifths of
those aged 25-29 and around two fifths of those
aged 30 or more. Among women who were smoking
before their pregnancy, rates of stopping
averaged 10% immediately before pregnancy and
18% during pregnancy. In this same group rates
of cutting down averaged about 4% immediately
before pregnancy and 32% during pregnancy.
However, rates of stopping within surveys varied
as a function of duration of the pregnancy. In
1997, 50% of the women surveyed were in the
third trimester. Of those who were smokers
(unweighted base = 196), 14% smokers stopped in
the first trimester, 2% in the second, and 2% in
the third. Thus most women who stop smoking
during pregnancy do so in the first trimester.
The study noted that the prevalence of smoking
and rates of stopping or cutting down on smoking
had changed little since 1992. Smoking during
pregnancy was a problem particularly for those
who were young, unemployed, or from manual
groups. Around 1 in 10 pregnant women gave up
smoking immediately before they became pregnant,
and more than 1 in 6 gave up during pregnancy.
Together, the figures (28%) fall short of the
aforementioned Health of the Nation requirement.
 (Biochemical measures to validate smoking
status were not used so the findings could be
conservative.) The findings suggested that
current practice to reduce smoking during
pregnancy was either not working or lacked
sufficient investment and prioritisation to be
effective.

Commenting on the study, Tessa Jowell, 
the Minister of State, Department of Health, said that 
the results showed that the NHS was not putting
enough emphasis on the problem of pregnant smokers. 
Dr Lesley Owen, co-author of the report, said,
"There has been no change in the number of pregnant 
smokers in the past five years. Persuading women
 to give up needs to be done sensitively and
 those working with pregnant women need to be trained in the best 
ways to succeed." Clive Bates, director of ASH, said the NHS response
to smoking in pregnancy was 'ad hoc and patchy'.
He called for primary carers in the NHS to be put 
under an obligation to tackle the issue. 

Source: BMJ 1998; 317: 728 12/9/98
The Times 11/9/98
Daily Mail 11/9/98
The Express 11/9/98
The Sun 11/9/98
The Mirror 11/9/98 


INTERNATIONAL - GENERAL

WORLD-WIDE: Tobacco 'the cause of rich and poor health gap'.

The latest analysis of premature deaths
world-wide indicates that smoking remains the
major distinguishing factor in the mortality of
people in different social classes. Richard
Peto, professor of medical statistics at Oxford
University, presented the statistics to
delegates at the British Association's Festival
of Science in Cardiff. The figures show that
over the past 25 years, the number of people in
the UK dying between the ages of 35 and 69 from
tobacco-related diseases has fallen from 80,000
to 40,000 annually. Professor Peto said, "In
1970 British men had the worst death rates in
the world from tobacco, but half the adults have
stopped smoking since then and Britain has had
the world's biggest decrease in tobacco
deaths." World-wide however, the death rate
from smoking continues to rise rapidly, "indeed,
the only two causes of death that are big and
rising fast are HIV (Aids) and tobacco," said
Professor Peto. He estimated that deaths caused
by smoking world-wide would increase from 4m
this year to 10m in 2030. In terms of
socio-economic groups, in the UK, according to
Professor Peto, "Professionals have one-fifth
the lung cancer rate of the unemployed. The
unemployed smoke more." The new figures mean
that of 1,000 young adult smokers, one would be
murdered, six would die in road accidents, and
500 would die from tobacco. Professor Peto
said, "It's so big (the smoking epidemic) that
somehow it becomes invisible."

Source: Financial Times 08/9/98
Daily Mail 08/9/98
The Independent 08/9/98
Daily Telegraph 08/9/98
The Times 08/9/98
The Guardian 08/9/98

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