14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health Blog

Need for cessation clinics in India

2009-03-11T00:58:00.000-07:00

It has been rightly pointed out in the world conference on tobacco or health which is being held in mumbai, that it is high time India has an adequate set of cessation clinics in place to help smokers get rid of their smoking habits.
Do you think as these clinics come up, a rigorous anti-tobacco campaign needs to begin simultaneously so that people feel the need to get rid of this habit and are easliy persuaded to come to these clinics for the same.what do you think?

Global Youth Leaders Meet to Voice Concern on Tobacco

2009-03-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

To complement the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (14-WCTOH), a two day Youth workshop: Global Youth Meet on Tobacco Control (GYM, 2009) is being held on March 6 and 7, 2009 in Mumbai. Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF) in collaboration with HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) is organizing this Youth Conference in Mumbai.

About 140 delegates (youth and adult chaperones) from 27 countries and 7 states of India are participating in GYM-2009. Together with adult facilitators, young people are meeting as a group and deliberating on issues related to tobacco control that will directly affect their present and future health.

The two themes during GYM, 2009 will be ‘Promoting smoke-free environments’ and ‘Ban on Tobacco Advertisement and Promotion’

The overall workshop would introduce participants to 8 themes which are relevant to tobacco control and youth under FCTC:

 Protection from tobacco smoke
 Raising of taxes on all tobacco products
 Mass media interventions
 Reducing the availability of tobacco products
 Tobacco packaging, labeling and Health warnings
 Prohibiting Tobacco marketing and Promotion
 Cessation programmes and initiative
 School based initiatives

Passive smoking increases the risk of Dementia by 44%

2009-02-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

British medical journal found a 44% increased risk of Dementia among people exposed to high level of secondhand smoke. Inhaling secondhand smoke can damage the brain and impair cognitive functions such as memory.

Will pictorial health warnings on tobacco products really discourage tobacco use?

2009-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

The government has deferred the decision to implement pictorial warnings on tobacco products.This ofcourse goes against all those who are fighting on the dangers of tobacco use.But the real question is will these warnings really help? As we saw in the previous postings by people on this blog that picking up a cigarette is a personal choice.what do you think?

Will removal of ban on smoking in films encourage smoking amongst the youth?

2009-01-29T01:15:00.000-08:00

The recent verdict to lift ban on smoking in films has come in as quite a dampener in the government’s crusade for banning smoking. Judge S.K. Kaul of Delhi High court has announced that “A cinematographic film must reflect the realities of life. Smoking is a reality of life! It is undesirable but it exists. It is not banned by law.”

Film Stars serve as role models to the society especially the youth. Research has proven that children or even youngsters try to emulate their role models. So by lifting this ban in films we are actually encouraging smoking amongst them. This brings about an even stronger challenge for all of us who are fighting the war against tobacco, to come together as one voice and keep pacing up the anti-tobacco campaign.

Third hand smoke, First hand problem

2009-01-19T01:30:00.000-08:00

Third-hand smoke is tobacco smoke contamination that remains after the cigarette has been extinguished," says Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at the Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston and author of a study on the new phenomenon published in the journal Pediatrics. According to the study, a large number of people, particularly smokers, have no idea that third-hand smoke—the cocktail of toxins that linger in carpets, sofas, clothes and other materials hours or even days after a cigarette is put out—is a health hazard for infants and children..

There are 250 poisonous toxins found in cigarette smoke. One such substance is lead. Very good studies show that tiny levels of exposure are associated with diminished IQ

In an interview with ScientificAmerican.com, Winickoff observes that children ingest twice the amount of dust that grown-ups do. Let's say a grown-up weighs 150 pounds [68 kilograms]. Let's say a baby weighs 15 pounds [seven kilograms]. The infant ingests twice the dust [due to faster respiration and proximity to dusty surfaces]. Effectively, they'll get 20 times the exposure!

A point worth considering, for those who smoke at home and still wonder why their kids don’t make the grades in school!

Smoking Mothers Beware!

2009-01-14T01:37:00.001-08:00

In a recent report published in the media it was found by Australia's New South Wales Cancer Institute that children whose mothers smoked during their pregnancy had stronger chances of getting cancer in their childhood.

Christmas eve marked the rebirth of both Taj & Trident hotels

2008-12-28T21:45:00.000-08:00

Both the Taj & Trident hotels in Mumbai have re-opened their doors to the public. The hotels which were battered by the terror strikes in Mumbai have risen from the ashes after being restored to their full glory. The first tourists who walked in after the doors were opened were interviewed by the media and have said that there is nothing to fear here. A news report which appeared in DNA newspaper on the reopening of the hotels is attached alongside this post.

We look forward to seeing you in Mumbai

10th December, World Human Rights Day: Demand for the Rights of children to live in a tobacco-free world

2008-12-10T02:50:00.000-08:00

Listed below are excerpts from articles we sourced online on Rights of a child to a tobacco-free environment

Tobacco and the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

1. Source: http://old.ash.org.uk/html/passive/html/kidsbrief.html

• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and came into force in September 1990. The Convention consists of legally binding international obligations. Article 3 of the Convention states that in every decision affecting a child, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Although the Convention does not include any explicit right to protection from the harm caused by tobacco, official interpretation of the articles of the Convention demonstrates that tobacco is a human rights issue. According to the World Health Organization:

“Because of the enormous potential harm to children from tobacco use and exposure, States have a duty to take all necessary legislative and regulatory measures to protect children from tobacco and ensure that the interest of children take precedence over those of the tobacco industry.” ---Tobacco and the Rights of the Child. WHO/NMH/TFI/01.3 WHO, 2001

2. Source: http://www.whoindia.org/LinkFiles/Tobacco_Free_Initiative_03-Chapter-07.6.pdf

• In 2001, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India considered the issues related to tobacco control from the perspective of human rights and concluded that the following rights of an individual are violated due to lack of tobacco control mechanisms in India.

1. Right to clean air
A non-smoker is forced to inhale tobacco smoke in public areas.
2. Rights of children
Rights of born and unborn children are violated when they are exposed to tobacco smoke (active and passive) in the home or public areas. They are the most vulnerable and worst affected.
3. Right to information
Both the smoker and non-smoker are not provided with adequate information about the harmful effects of tobacco product and, in fact, are bombarded with misinformation about tobacco products through advertisements/events/celebrity and role model-linked promotion.
4. Right to education
Both the smoker and non-smoker are not adequately educated about the drastic ill-effects of tobacco on their personal and public health.
5. Right to redressal
Both the smoker/non-smoker do not have any redressal mechanism for the injuries/ ill-effects suffered by them due to tobacco products.
6. Right to tobacco cessation programme/activities (as part of right to health)
The smoker and his/her family have a right to have access to various cessation
strategies. In addition, there are also some rights of the smoker which may be violated by regulatory measures intended for tobacco control. However, these have to be superseded in the interest of public health and human rights of the larger community.

An analysis of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), conducted in 1998-1999, shows that tobacco smoking is inversely associated with educational status, with an illiterate person being three times more likely to smoke than a post graduate education.

• Studies show that the poor consume the most toxic tobacco products, e.g. unbranded beedis manufactured with poor quality control and sometimes laced with other narcotic drugs. Children are involved in the making of these beedis, so the time when they should be studying, they roll beedis and remain entrapped in the cycle of poverty.

• Tobacco quid is used by poor women and men to ward off hunger during long tedious work in agriculture, construction and other labour.

Hotel Trident to be ready in 20 days

2008-12-05T03:59:00.001-08:00

Hotel Trident, one of the hotels which bore the brunt of the terror attack only last week has bounced back with renewed vigor. We salute the staff who is working round the clock to have the venue ready for us as early as possible. We at 14WCTOH urge you all to go ahead with your bookings as planned. Here's the latest from Hotel Trident (see enclosed news clip, as reported in the Times of India, December 4th, 2008)

We look forward to welcoming you in Mumbai: President, 14th WCTOH

2008-12-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Posted on behalf of Dr P C Gupta, President 14th WCTOH:

Dear Delegate

We understand your concern and are thankful for all the positive support that has been pouring in from across the globe. The situation in Mumbai is completely under control and we are confident of managing the conference at NCPA in Mumbai during 8th-12th March 2009 itself.

The Secretariat is currently working very closely with the Conference hotel team at The Trident and are sure that the hotel will be completely operational by end of this month with tightened security in place. We are also working with the Mumbai Police and they have assured us of the enhanced safety measures being implemented across the city. Thus we strongly recommend you to go ahead with your bookings as planned.

The 14th WCTOH Secretariat team is available to all our delegates a on the following landlines – 0091-022-22828502 or 22824705 from 9:00 am to 6:30 p.m (IST) Monday to Friday.

We all look forward to welcoming each one of you in Mumbai in March 2009.

Warm regards,

Dr. PC Gupta

President

14th WCTOH

14th WCTOH: We will prevail!

2008-12-02T21:53:00.001-08:00

Mumbai has spoken. And this time it is different. While we raise our voices in unison against terrorism and rage over the apathy shown by our political system, we are fully aware that unless our emotion is translated into action, all the lives lost would be in vain.

14th WCTOH will not let terror get in its way. Like Mumbai, we will prevail.

Our secretariat is fully operational and we will remain committed to our cause. Our source of strength lies in the tremendous support we have received via emails and phone calls which have been flooding in from all over the globe with just one message WE WILL BE THERE IN MARCH.

Though unnerved by the terror attack in Mumbai, many expatriate CEOs who have made this city their first home do not think that Mumbai or other parts of India have become unsafe. Tourists and several expats have come on national television to say that they will continue to visit Mumbai.

The authorities have declared that Mumbai is safe and with the response we have been receiving from our supporters across the world we are confident that we will be seeing you all in Mumbai in March 2009.

Scary Puff Pics Deferred for Polls?

2008-11-26T03:55:00.000-08:00

Just when we anti-tobacco lobbyists have started to believe that we have earned ourselves a feather in our cap by getting the national ban on smoking in public places into effect we are now jolted out of our reverie by the recent volte-face shown by our brethren in the polity on the pictorial warnings law.

The deference of the pictorial warning law to post elections day means that this law would not see the light of day till maybe april 2009. It seems like the smoke-screen just blew out leaving us with a clear view of the challenges that lie ahead.

For those of you who have not read about it, I have pasted the complete story as reported by the Times of India on 26 November 2009, in the adjoining image.