Impact of Mexico City’s smoking ban on local businesses

Smoking ban had positive impact on Mexico City businesses

Mexico City’s 2008 city-wide smoking ban has not had a negative effect on revenues, wages and employment levels in the businesses affected by the law, including restaurants, nightclubs, bars and taverns, a study finds.

The study’s findings are consistent with results from similar studies carried out in other countries and settings globally. Smoke-free environments protect the health of non-smokers and workers in the hospitality industry, and also contribute to decreasing the social acceptability of smoking and the consumption of active cigarette smokers.

“These results provide scientific evidence to policymakers and legislators in Mexico and in other countries to impel local laws that promote 100% smoke-free public places in order to fulfill the provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” the study concluded.

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Source:
1. Guerrero López CM, Jiménez Ruiz JA, Reynales Shigematsu LM, Waters HR. The economic impact of Mexico City’s smoke-free law. Tobacco Control, published online 3 Feb 2011.  (open access)

Teen smoking and socioeconomic disparities in Ghana

Teenagers of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to take up smoking than their more affluent counterparts, finds a study from Ghana.

Those teens in the study who are expected to end up in adulthood in a lower socioeconomic status than their families (downwardly mobile) are more likely to use tobacco than those teens who are stable in the high socioeconomic status.

Health promotion and tobacco control strategies aimed at reducing teen smoking should pay attention to adolescents of lower socioeconomic statuses and those in danger of dropping out of school, the study concludes.

Source:
1. Doku D, Koivusilta L, Raisamo S. Do socioeconomic differences in tobacco use exist also in developing countries? A study of Ghanaian adolescents. BMC Public Health 2010; 10: 758. (open access)

Smoking linked to chronic kidney disease

Heavy cigarette smoking increases the risk of chronic kidney disease, particularly for kidney disease classified as hypertensive nephropathy and diabetic nephropathy, a study shows.

These results raise the importance of smoking cessation to decrease the incidence of chronic kidney disease and other preventable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery diseases and cancers, the study concluded.

Source:
1. Yacoub R, Habib H, Lahdo A, et al. Association between smoking and chronic kidney disease: a case control study. BMC Public Health 2010; 10: 731. (open access)

Secondhand smoke—a major cause of disease and death worldwide

Children are the most affected by secondhand smoke

Despite public health efforts to control tobacco use around the world, cigarette smoking remains a common addiction with more than one billion smokers worldwide—about 40 percent of men and 10 percent of women. As a result, exposure to secondhand smoke is widespread, leading to heart disease, cancer, respiratory problems and death among people who spend time in the presence of smokers.

A study published in November 2010 in The Lancet presents first estimates on the extent of worldwide exposure to secondhand smoke in 2004 and the associated burden of disease and premature death. Worldwide, more than 600,000 deaths per year are caused by secondhand smoke (more than one percent of all deaths), according to the study. After adding the estimated 5.1 million deaths due to active smoking, smoking was responsible for more than 5.7 million deaths in 2004 alone.

“These estimates…suggest that substantial health gains could be made by extending effective public health and clinical interventions to reduce passive smoking worldwide,” conclude the authors.

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Source:
1. Öberg M, Jaakkola MS, Woodward A, et al. Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second-hand smoke: a retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries. Lancet, published online 26 Nov 2010. (open access)

A tax increase on cigarettes reduced tobacco smoking in Mexico

A tobacco tax increase reduces smoking

Mexico implemented a cigarette tax increase in 2007, effectively raising the price that Mexican smokers pay for a cigarette pack by nearly 13 percent, which in turn led to a 29 percent reduction in cigarette smoking among Mexicans, according to a study published in the December 2010 issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

The study analyzed data from the International Tobacco Control (ICT) Policy Evaluation Survey conducted in 2006 and 2007 in Mexico.

“Since no other tobacco control policies or programs were implemented during the period analyzed, the tax increase appears likely to have decreased [cigarette] consumption,” the study said.

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Source:
1. Saenz-de-Miera B, Thrasher JF, Chaloupka FJ, et al. Self-reported price of cigarettes, consumption and compensatory behaviours in a cohort of Mexican smokers before and after a cigarette tax increase. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: 481-487. (open access)

Chile’s partial smoking ban ineffective at reducing passive smoke

Complete Smoking Bans Reduce Secondhand Smoke

Chile enacted national legislation restricting smoking in public places and workplaces in 2007. But research indicates that the country’s smoking ban provides no protection from secondhand smoke exposure to employees and customers in bars and restaurants because the law is not comprehensive. The partial smoking ban allows bars and restaurants to decide whether or not they will be smoke-free or to designate smoking and non-smoking areas.

There is urgent need to replace the current legislation with a comprehensive anti-smoking law that fully protects all people and workers from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in public places, according to a study that compared levels of secondhand smoke exposure in bars and restaurants in Santiago, Chile, before and after the implementation of the 2007 smoking ban. The study appears in the December 2010 issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

“Comprehensive smoke-free legislation is the best policy and the international standard to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke in indoor public places and workplaces,” the study said.

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Source:
1. Erazo M, Iglesias V, Droppelmann A, et al. Secondhand tobacco smoke in bars and restaurants in Santiago, Chile: evaluation of partial smoking ban legislation in public places. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: 469-474. (open access)

The impact of bans on smoking and cigarette ads in Albania

Despite the adoption of strong anti-smoking policies and restrictions on cigarette adverting in 2007, the smoking rate in Albania has risen. The increase in cigarette smoking has been driven by higher smoking rates among women and young adults.

Albania’s anti-smoking laws have, however, contributed to reductions in exposure to secondhand smoke and tobacco advertising.

“The impacts of smoke-free policies and an advertising ban have been limited due to lack of enforcement and failure to adopt a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures,” said the researchers of a study that appears in the December 2010 issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

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Source:
1. Zaloshnja E, Ross H, Levy DT. The impact of tobacco control policies in Albania. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: 463-468. (open access)

Smoking among secondary school students in Zimbabwe

Nearly one-third of secondary school students in Harare, Zimbabwe, have ever smoked, a study reports. The percentage of boys who have ever smoked (37.8 percent) was significantly much higher than among girls (18.5 percent).

The study found that smoking among these students was linked to having friends or family that smoke, getting involved in physical fights, alcohol use, marijuana use and having had sexual intercourse.

Source:
1. Bandason T, Rusakaniko S. Prevalence and associated factors of smoking among secondary school students in Harare Zimbabwe. Tobacco Induced Diseases 2010; 8: 12. (open access)

Quitting smoking in China—the need for improved tobacco control

China is facing a public health crisis with over 350 million smokers, representing nearly one-third of all smokers in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that one million smokers in China die from tobacco-related illnesses each year, and this number is expected to rise to 2.2 million deaths by 2020.

Despite these grim facts, more than three-fourths of Chinese smokers have no plans to quit smoking. Furthermore, less than one-third of smokers are aware of the harmful effects smoking has on their health, according to new research based on the International Tobacco Control (ICT) China Survey.

There is a need for smoking cessation support, anti-tobacco laws, higher cigarette taxes and awareness of the health risks of smoking.

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Source:
1.Feng G, Jiang Y, Li Q, et al. Individual-level factors associated with intentions to quit smoking among adult smokers in six cities of China: findings from the ITC China Survey. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: i6-i11. (0pen access)
2.Jiang Y, Elton-Marshall T, Fong GT, Li Q. Quitting smoking in China: findings from the ITC China Survey. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: i12-i17. (open access)
3.Yang J, Hammond D, Driezen P, et al. Health knowledge and perception of risks among Chinese smokers and non-smokers: findings from the Wave 1 ITC China Survey. Tobacco Control 2010; 19: i18-i23. (open access)

Weak anti-smoking laws expose Chinese workers to secondhand smoke

A high number of Chinese workers are exposed to secondhand smoke at work every day, and current smoking bans do not provide adequate protection, according to a study conducted in Shanghai published on 21 October 2010 in the journal Tobacco Control.

The highest level of exposure to secondhand smoke was among restaurant employees—an expected finding considering that restaurants tend to have the weakest smoking bans, if any at all. People who worked at kindergartens were exposed to the least amount of secondhand smoke, mainly because kindergartens employ mostly women, who are less likely to smoke.

There is an urgent need for implementation of comprehensive smoke-free legislation covering all workplaces, including restaurants and hotels, in order to improve occupational health, the study concluded.

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Source:
1. Zheng P, Li W, Chapman S, et al. Workplace exposure to secondhand smoke and its association with respiratory symptoms—a cross-sectional study among workers in Shanghai. Tobacco Control, published online 21 Oct 2010. (open access)