Figures show that no less than 30% of the NKI patients die as a result of smoking. In the Netherlands, at least 55 people die every day because of smoking. As a result of their smoking behaviour of 20 years ago, women are now more likely to die from lung cancer than from breast cancer.

On 22 February, it is expected that the Public Prosecutor`s Office will announce whether the case is going to run in Court.

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See the full list of parties who filed the complaint against tobacco companies [in Dutch]...

Read the full press release...

‘Health has an increasingly important role in our shops and tobacco does not fit in with that,’ Van Breen said. 

Tobacco products account for a couple of percent of the group's sales and will be phased out in stages this year and in 2019. The first revamped Kruidvat without tobacco products has already opened its doors. Kruidvat has also joined the Alliantie Nederland Rookvrij, a cancer charity initiative to encourage people to give up smoking.

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What is its main aim?

The general objective is to provide support for the implementation of the TPD throughout the Member States. More specifically, it aims to support the dissemination of information to the target groups; make it easier to access data collected through the EU Common Entry Gate (EU CEG); monitor and provide support to the tasks of tobacco and e-cigarette products regulation; assist Member States networking and collaboration between research institutions and laboratories for tobacco evaluation; support Member States in the process of monitoring, assessing and updating priority additives; and integrate the JATC results into national policies.

Who is participating in the project and what are the target groups?

Thirty-one scientific and governmental institutions from across Europe are active members of the JATC tasks, while 13 more international stakeholders participate as collaborating partners.

The JATC seeks to reach a variety of primary target groups for the project’s outcome and communication activities; EU regulators, EU policy makers, international and national tobacco control stakeholders and researchers, as well as the general public.

What are the expected outcomes?

Apart from the TPD implementation, expected outcomes for the Member States include 1) increased regulators' training, 2) agreement on a common approach on taking tobacco product evidence-based decisions, 3) increased data sharing and collaborations on tobacco product regulatory science, 4) increased literacy on tobacco product design, constituents and toxicity, 5) increased knowledge of e-cigarette design parameters, ingredients and emissions, 6) enhanced laboratory collaboration for ingredient and emission measurements, 7) increased scientific scrutiny regarding potential priority additives, 8) increased general public awareness and 9) enhanced research and policy action.

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According to the survey, 27.1 percent of the population said they were smokers compared to 36.7 percent in 2012.

Prof Behrakis mentioned the drop was a record in the EU. He also pointed to a significant drop in cigarette sales in Greece.

However, he warns that Greece still gets a “very low mark” in implementing anti-smoking laws in restaurants, bars, cafes and nightclubs. Ηe also highlighted the poor situation on enforcing the smoking ban in public buildings such as courts, ministries, local authority premises and even parliament.

“There is no political will to enforce anti-smoking laws there,” he says. “Images of ministers and other officials smoking in public places send the wrong message and also show there is a lack of political will to enforce the law.”

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In the meantime, EURACTIVE.com reports about European Commission calling on Greece to implement smoking ban. The EC spokesperson said generally, “We urge member states to follow the Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments.”

The Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments (November 2009) called on member states to adopt and implement laws to fully protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in enclosed public places, workplaces and public transport, within three years of its adoption.

ASH is America's oldest anti-tobacco organisation, which is dedicated to building a world with ZERO tobacco deaths. 

In line with their mission, ASH released a video dedicated to a world with ZERO tobacco deaths. The video not only shows the toll cigarette sales have on our society but it also poses the question of why cigarettes are still an ubiquitous consumer good in the 21^st century.

We invite you to watch and share the video and join the associated campaign. 

“Such a device tricks smokers because they are unaware of the degree of risk they are taking,” the complaint states. The anti-smoking organisation discovered real nicotine levels were five times higher than shown in the tests, while actual tar levels are two to 10 times higher.

On 9 February, the CNC filed a lawsuit against the main four tobacco manufacturers accusing them of "putting the lives of others in danger". 

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Tobacco sales in France declined by more than 2% in 2017. This might be a result of a number of tobacco control measures: the past year was marked by an increase in the tax on rolling tobacco, the implementation of plain packaging and a raise of the minimum tax excise.

The sales slowly keep going downhill since 2016. According to Customs Service, legal sales of tobacco products in France fell by 2.2% in 2017, which is twice as fast as it was predicted by the Social Security Accounts Commission in September 2017. There is also good progress in comparison with 2016, when the decrease was only 1.1%.

Read more [in French]...

Since adoption of the resolution, Member States are taking action on its recommendations. Governments are enacting evidence-based risk-reducing strategies such as imposing higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol, promoting healthy diets and physical activity, and advocating for access to HPV vaccination. Approximately 30-50% of cancers can be prevented if these policies are maximally implemented.

Member States will next report on progress in achieving implementation  at the Third High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases to be held in 2018.

Read Fact Sheet on Cancer 2018...

While the PMI-funded "Foundation for a Smokefree World" announces its leadership team and executive board of Directors, ENSP would like to encourage all its members, partners and stakeholders working in research, prevention and tobacco dependence treatment to reject any partnership or project funding coming from this organisation. 

The Foundation For a Smoke-Free World has sent a letter to 344 public health researchers and groups, offering $1 billion in grants. While this would typically be applauded, ENSP, alongside many of the recipients, is waving a red flag due to the organisation’s ties to big tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI).

Following the footsteps of WHO, ENSP would like to reiterate the warning sent last year to its entire network to bring to people's attention about the real motivation behind such a foundation. It is absolutely true that WHO FCTC Article 5.3 obliges Parties to act to protect public health policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. But this only concerns governments. However as experts, advocates, scientists or health professionals, it is important that we do keep away from any research or project funded by a company that has been lying and misleading not only the general public but also governements and the civil society. 

In addition, when an industry had spent - and still does - so much energy and money to challenge and delay every single policy put in place, whether it is on taxation, smokefree public places, ban on tobacco advertising, graphic warning or plain packaging, we have the right to question its motives and to remain sceptical about its true objectives. It also used an aggressive strategy of intimidation and engaged in long and expensive litigation against countries and governments, which are brave enough to put in place ground breaking tobacco control legislations. 

Those examples show how little they care about protecting citizens from the harmful effects of their products, which let us not forget kill 50% of their consumers. Therefore we urge the public health community to keep away from any collaboration with the PMI-funded foundation for the sake of tobacco control. 

The panel said Philip Morris had not proven that iQOS reduced harm compared with cigarettes. It did conclude that the product exposes users to lower levels of harmful chemicals but said the company had not shown that lowering exposure to those chemicals is reasonably likely to translate into a measurable reduction in disease or death. 

Philip Morris needs to show both in order to claim in its marketing materials that the product reduces a user’s exposure to harmful chemicals.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said panelists “identified that serious questions remain” about the company’s application. He said it could amend the application and the panel’s recommendation does not rule out an ultimate approval.

The FDA is expected to decide whether Philip Morris can sell iQOS within the next few months. It will decide separately whether to authorize the modified-risk claims. There is no time frame for when that decision might come.

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The American Cancer Society announced the names of the recipients of the 2018 Luther L. Terry Awards that will be presented on March 8th, 2018 in a lunchtime plenary session at the 17th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health in Cape Town, South Africa.

Distinguished Career

Dr Douglas William Bettcher, MD, MPH, PhD (Canada/Switzerland)

Outstanding Leadership

Professor Elif Dagli (Turkey)

Young Pioneer

Dr. Constantine Vardavas, MD, RN, MPH, PhD. FCCP (Greece)

The Awards are named for the late United States Surgeon General Luther L. Terry, MD, who led the landmark 1964 Surgeon General’s report that connected tobacco use to lung cancer and other illnesses. Dr. Terry’s groundbreaking work established the foundation for public health scrutiny of the dangers of tobacco use.

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Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) kill more people than any other cause of death worldwide, and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure contribute to approximately 12% of all heart disease deaths. Tobacco use is the second leading cause of CVD, after high blood pressure.

Goals of the World No Tobacco Day 2018 campaign

World No Tobacco Day 2018 aims to:

• Highlight the links between the use of tobacco products and heart and other cardiovascular diseases.
• Increase awareness within the broader public of the impact tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke have on cardiovascular health. 
• Provide opportunities for the public, governments and others to make commitments to promote heart health by protecting people from use of tobacco products.
• Encourage countries to strengthen implementation of the proven MPOWER tobacco control measures contained in the WHO FCTC.

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The EU executive stated that it would re-examine the situation in the next regular report on tobacco taxation due in 2019.

ENSP provided a comment to EURACTIV.com on the matter, expressing our regret of the delay to the harmonisation of taxes on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, and referred to a World Health Orgsanisation report (August 2016), which claimed that there were possible risks from active and passive exposure to electronic cigarette vapour.

ENSP also expressed serious concerns that those novel products could serve to initiate young people into smoking:

“However, we know that taxation is the best measure to prevent people from taking up smoking, especially children and vulnerable populations. An EU level harmonisation of excise taxes will decrease the affordability and attractiveness of those products. Therefore ENSP worries that the longer we wait to regulate those novel products, the more opportunities we give the tobacco industry to recruit new consumers.” 

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The MEP has asked for an opportunity to veto the text, which would force the European Commission to come up with a new proposal. If the EU parliament wants to veto the delegated act, it needs to do so before 15 April 2018.

The editirial featured in the 2-4/2017 edition of the "Tabaccologia" (Scientific Journal of SITAB) focuses on a timely issue of the research independence from the tobacco industry.

The authors of the paper (Vincenzo Zagà, M. Sofia Cattaruzza, Francisco Rodriguez Lozano, Antigona Trofor, Marco Mura, Giacomo Mangiaracina, Biagio Tinghino) express the position that University Scientific research should never accept funding from companies operating in the same sector in which it is applied, especially when it applies to such field as tobacco, which damages human health. The researchers who accept such funding are welcoming the "Trojan horse" of the tobacco industry.

Today, thanks to Tobacco Control policies implemented in Western countries, the tobacco industry has a desperate need to involve universities in the deception of non-causality between tobacco smoke and smoking-related diseases.

The article describes multiple examples of  the tobacco industry's deceptive behaviour throughout the years. For over six decades, the tobacco “cartel” has tried in every way to actively challenge the scientific evidence in the media and courtrooms which has proved it to be responsible. Furthermore, the tobacco industry has also resorted to the corruption of leading gurus in the medical scientific field. Likewise, the tobacco industry has bribed politicians and journalists to misrepresent research results whenever they were perceived as threatening to their profits. 

Health institutions in general and academics in particular have a duty of transmitting to future health professionals the ability to treat and prevent smoking and should have a policy statement that specifically prohibits academic bodies from accepting tobacco industry funding including grant funding.

In the U.S.A. there are already several examples (Open Letter signed by Deans of the American Public Health Schools) of this practice and it is to be hoped that this will soon spread all over the world. For example, the European Journal of Public Health will no longer publish tobacco industry-supported research, a practice already adopted by many other medical journals such as BMJ, Heart, Thorax, Plos one and many others.

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The new American report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is the most comprehensive analysis of existing research on e-cigarettes.

It concludes that although smokers who switch completely to e-cigarettes are exposed to lower levels of toxic substances, little is known about the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use like devices’ addictive potential or their effects on the heart, lungs or on reproduction. Furthermore, there is only “limited evidence that e-cigarettes may be effective aids to promote smoking cessation.”

A national panel of public health experts also concluded that vaping with e-cigarettes that contain nicotine can be addictive and that teenagers who use the devices may be at higher risk of smoking.

In response to the report, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids published the statement of the President Matthew L. Myers:

It demonstrates why the FDA should fully and aggressively implement the overdue e-cigarette regulations that took effect in August 2016. The FDA should reverse a decision it made last year to delay until August 2022 a key requirement that e-cigarettes already on the market undergo scientific review by the FDA. In addition, the FDA should enforce the requirement that manufacturers who introduce new or modified products provide detailed information about these products and undergo FDA review before these products are allowed on the market.

Unless the FDA takes these steps, products that clearly appeal to kids – including many sold in candy flavors like gummy bear and cotton candy – will remain on the market for years to come and new ones will be introduced. In addition, smokers who want to quit will have no idea which, if any, e-cigarettes have been shown to be helpful, and manufacturers will have no incentive to invest in developing products that will actually help smokers quit.

Read the report...
Read the CTFK statement...

A large, new meta-analysis published in the BMJ found that smoking even 1 cigarette a day significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. 

Smoking socially, from time to time or reducing the number of cigarettes instead of quitting "cold turkey" is generally seen as “safer” option, compared to people who smoke a pack a day or more.

The authors conducted an extensive review examining 141 prospective cohort studies published in 21 countries between 1946 and 2015. It followed a total of 5.6 million people to see who developed coronary heart disease and 7.3 million people for stroke. The authors only looked at generally healthy individuals, excluding patients taking medication for cardiac related disorders, for example.

They found that men who have about one cigarette per day had a 48 percent higher risk of heart disease and 25 percent higher risk of stroke compared to people who have never smoked. For women, the news is even grimmer, with a 57 percent and 31 percent higher risk for heart disease and stroke, respectively, compared to never smokers.

The authors conclude that smoking one cigarette per day carries a risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke much greater than expected: around half that for people who smoke 20 per day. Thus, no safe level of smoking exists for cardiovascular disease. Smokers should aim to quit instead of cutting down to significantly reduce their risk of these two common major conditions.

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UK researchers analysed responses from 215,000 people across eight surveys conducted in the UK, the United States, Australia and New Zealand that were included in the Global Health Data Exchange. Of the responses, just over 60% had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, almost 69% reported that they had gone on to become daily smokers.

Prof. Hajek added that this high "conversion rate" to smoking highlights the importance of preventing people trying cigarettes in the first place and that some of the reduction in terms of numbers of smokers in more recent years is probably aided by fewer teens trying it.

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This report was produced to reply to the COP7 request to the Convention Secretariat to facilitate sharing of best practices among Parties to implement Article 5.3.

It provides a selection of advanced practices in implementing Article 5.3. Furthermore, the report draws from a variety of Parties’ experiences, including those recommended in the guidelines. While some Parties have taken a whole-of-government approach, which is the ideal, others have adopted measures to protect the ministry/department of health from interference by the tobacco industry as a first step. Others have introduced policies on certain measures recommended in the guidelines, such as transparency. This report also provides examples of the denormalization of the tobacco industry, such as the banning of tobacco-related corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and divestments from the tobacco business. 

Read the report...

The tobacco industry often argues that there is public opposition to tobacco restrictions and that people do not want governments to implement measures such as clean indoor air laws, tobacco tax and plain packaging. A common tobacco industry tactic is to create an impression of public opposition to tobacco regulations (including using front groups, generating responses to public consultations etc). While in reality most people, including those who smoke, support tobacco control measures.

Key messages summarising the facts concerning public support of TC measures:

• The tobacco industry – often via front groups, third parties and fake grassroots organizations – often argues that there is strong public opposition to tobacco regulations. However, this opposition tends to be funded primarily by tobacco companies, and is usually not as 'grassroots' as it appears.
• Public support is strong, including among those who smoke, even for very comprehensive tobacco control measures such as plain packaging, smokefree outdoor areas, and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and promotions including bans on point-of-sale tobacco displays.
• Public support for any given tobacco control measure can be increased by educating the public on its rationale, making sure the measures are part of a comprehensive approach, and denormalizing the tobacco industry.

Read more in the WHO Tobacco Control Playbook.