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Under-18 ban 'cut teenage smoking rates'
Teenage smoking rates in England have dropped since the legal age for buying cigarettes rose from 16 to 18, research by University College London suggests.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 teenagers aged 16 and 17 before and after the age rise in October 2007.
Smoking rates in this age group dropped significantly, from 24% before the law change to about 17% after it. Smoking rates in over 18s remained unchanged.
Cancer Research UK said it showed tobacco policy could make a difference.
Experts know that more than 80% of smokers start before the age of 19 and that half of all long-term smokers will die of cancer or other smoking-related diseases.
Stopping young people from starting smoking is vital if the death toll from tobacco is to be reduced, they say in the journal Addiction.
Jenny Fidler, who led the study and is based at Cancer Research UK's health behaviour research centre at University College London, said: "The new law looks to have helped reduce smoking prevalence among younger age groups.
"This is good news for the future health of this generation of young people and shows that tobacco policies can make a real difference."
Before 2007 it was legal to sell cigarettes to anyone over the age of 16 in England, Scotland or Wales. The same was true in Northern Ireland until 2008.
Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "This result is encouraging. We would like to have seen an even bigger drop in the number of young smokers but any measure that helps stops young people from smoking is a step in the right direction.
"We need to do more to protect young people. We urge the government to prevent more lives being lost to an addiction that will kill half of all long term smokers."
She said putting tobacco out of sight in shops and removing cigarette vending machines would be a good place to start.
A Department of Health spokesman said they were in discussions across government on how best to progress to tackle smoking.
He added: "We welcome these findings as nearly all adults who smoke get hooked when they are young. Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in England, causing over 80,000 premature deaths in England each year."
Source:BBC News, 18 August 2010
Smoking ban in cars carrying children backed by majority of public
Three-quarters of Britons want smoking in cars carrying children to be banned, according to a poll.
Many doctors already support such a ban. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, last week caused controversy when he said that parents who smoked in front of their young children were "committing a form of child abuse".
A YouGov poll for the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) found 74% support for banning anyone from smoking in a car in which children are on board, with 10% against and 11% undecided. The faculty, which represents public health specialists in the NHS, academia and local government, said that although politicians may be concerned about legislating to curb behaviour in "private space", adherence to seatbelt laws shows people would accept it. Second-hand smoke can be 27 times more toxic in a car than a smoker's home, it says in a report published today.
"There's a wealth of medical and public backing for a ban on smoking in cars with children," said Rachael Jolley, the FPH's head of policy. "Attitudes to smoking have changed dramatically."
Professor Mitch Blair from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: "We strongly support the call to ban smoking in cars with children travelling in them to ensure that we protect their health. The public is sending out a strong message in this survey and the government should act on this."
Inhaling secondhand smoke has been linked to chest infections, asthma and ear problems in children and sudden infant death syndrome, or cot death, he added.
However, the government has made clear it will not be implementing any further restrictions on smoking and is considering not enforcing Labour's ban on the public display of cigarettes in shops.
Large majorities of the public also favour other dramatic government moves to improve health, the poll found. Some 82% want the makers of alcoholic drinks to be compelled to list how many units and calories their products contain on the side of every can and bottle, while 78% favour all food manufacturers having to put traffic light-style labels on the packaging to tell people how much far, salt and sugar they contain.
The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is opposed to such labelling, which is used by some supermarkets. He said: "We need a more effective public health strategy which provides better information and support to the public with new national and local strategies to encourage changes in behaviour. This will reduce the drivers of ill health, including smoking, alcohol misuse, poor diet and lack of exercise."
The Department of Health said: "Most people know about the dangers of passive smoking, particularly with regards to children. It is important parents take responsibility for their children's health."
Source:The Guardian, 18 August 2010
Smoking could be banned from Kent's parks
Smoking could be banned in public parks if there are children around - but officials are worried about how it could be enforced.
The option is being considered by Kent County Council, but enforcement problems could stub it out at an early stage. The idea was mooted in a KCC document on ways to help people stop lighting up.
The report, called Towards a Smokefree Generation, says smokefree homes and cars would help protect children, and adds: "Smokefree parks, events, sports grounds and arenas. There is an opportunity for Kent partners, especially local authorities and the county council, to demonstrate a commitment to protecting children from tobacco by supporting the call for smokefree conditions (mandatory or voluntary) to be applied to events and/or facilities that are aimed at children and/or families."
Allan Gregory is the tobacco control manager of the Kent Alliance on Smoking Health (Kash), based at County Hall in Maidstone.
He said: "This is central government strategy and in our report we are bringing it to people's attention. It is in our report for information and a reflection of the national agenda."
It also suggests banning smoking in prisons and mental health units.
Kash is a partnership between Kent organisations involved in tobacco control. It wants to promote smokefree environments, highlight stop-smoking support, tackle underage tobacco sales, and stop counterfeit tobacco products and smuggling.
It is made up of representatives from the Eastern and Coastal Kent and West Kent Stop Smoking Services, the 12 local authorities in Kent, the county council, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue, UK Border Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, education services and Trading Standards.
KCC says more than 2,000 Kent people die prematurely every year due to smoking, which is the biggest cause of preventable death in the county.
And it costs Kent businesses about £215 million in sick days and smoking breaks.
Reaction around the county was variable. A Medway Council official said: "We are not currently considering a ban on smoking in parks."
A Shepway council spokesman said: "We think this is unenforceable under the Health Act.
"Any landowner can make what restrictions they like in the way their own land is used, although we're not sure how they would enforce this smoking ban."
A Dover District Council official said: "We will continue to work with KCC and other agencies to help promote healthy living across the district.
"The proposal relating to smoking in parks does raise issues regarding enforcement and we await further information on how it could be taken forward before giving serious consideration to the idea."
Source: Kent News, 01 August 2010
Can secondhand smoke hurt kids' grades?
Children and teenagers exposed to secondhand smoke at home may get poorer grades than their peers from smoke-free homes, a study of Hong Kong students suggests.
Secondhand smoke is a well-known health threat to children, being linked to increased risks of asthma, as well as bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory infections. Studies have also found a connection between smoking during pregnancy and higher risks of childhood behavior problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Some research has also found that children exposed to cigarette smoke in the womb or at home may trail their peers when it comes to cognitive abilities like reasoning and remembering. But whether secondhand smoke itself is to blame remains unclear.
In the new study, researchers found that among 23,000 11- to 20-year-old non-smoking students, the one-third who lived with at least one smoker were more likely to describe their own school performance as "poor."
Of students who said they were exposed to smoking at home at least five days a week, 23 percent said their school performance was poor compared with their classmates'. That rate was 20 percent among kids who had less frequent secondhand-smoke exposure at home, and 17 percent among those from smoke-free homes.
The researchers were able to account for certain other factors, like parents' education levels and the type of housing -- both markers of socioeconomic status. They found that students' exposure to secondhand smoke, itself, was linked to a 14 percent to 28 percent greater risk of poor school performance, depending on how frequent the exposure was.
Dr. Sai-Yin Ho and colleagues at the University of Hong Kong report the results in the Journal of Pediatrics.
The findings do not prove that secondhand smoke was the reason for the poorer grades.
The study had a number of limitations, including its reliance on students' ratings of their own academic performance and exposure to tobacco smoke. Future studies should include objective measures of secondhand-smoke exposure, using urine samples, as well as official school records, Ho's team writes.
The researchers also could not account for the full range of factors that might be related to both secondhand-smoke exposure and children's school performance. They lacked information, for example, on whether students were exposed to smoking in the womb.
Still, Ho's team notes, it is biologically plausible that the many toxic compounds in tobacco smoke -- including lead, arsenic, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide -- could affect children's cognitive abilities.
Regardless of whether secondhand smoke does hurt kids' school performance, there are many established reasons for parents to quit smoking and limit their children's exposure to smokers.
These findings, the researchers write, offer another potential reason for parents to "eliminate smoking at home" and warn their children to avoid secondhand exposure.
Source: Reuters - 29 July 2010
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