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L. Clancy



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    PL02b - Tobacco Control (ID 425)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Plenary
    • Track: Epidemiology/Tobacco Control and Cessation/Prevention
    • Presentations: 1
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      PL02b.04 - Tobacco Control (ID 6865)

      10:00 - 10:20  |  Author(s): L. Clancy

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Abstract:
      Tobacco Control Tobacco is the biggest preventable cause of cancer in the world. Estimates suggest that approximately one-third of all cancers are caused by tobacco use. Although 80%–90% of all lung cancers are attributable to tobacco, it also has a causative role in malignancies of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, nose and sinuses, oesophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, and bowel as well as on one type of ovarian cancer and some types of leukaemia. Tobacco is a widely and legally available product which, through the drug nicotine, is highly addictive and is promoted by a powerful and highly profitable industry. It has several marketing advantages over other addictive drugs. Other addictive drugs are mostly illegal, their method of administration is often by injection, they are socially disruptive, and they have very low social acceptability. In contrast, tobacco use has been the norm in the past and still has social acceptability in certain societies. Thousands of harmful chemicals are present in tobacco and particularly in tobacco smoke, which has documented serious adverse health effects. There are 70 known carcinogens in cigarette smoke including nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, cadmium, toluidine, and vinyl chloride Industry access to policymakers Tobacco control policies, and therefore the health of the public, suffer when policy-makers maintain connections with the Transnational Tobacco Companies (TTC), as this provides a direct avenue for policy influence. TTCs still meet with and hope to influence government officials responsible for tobacco control policy in many countries. This is in direct violation of those countries commitments under the FCTC which is a legally binding WHO treaty. Through these contacts, industry has been able to offer ‘help’ to national governments to negotiate e.g. a later excise harmonization deadline and influence the speed of increase to meet these requirements. Political links such as this contravene the FCTC Article 5.3, which seeks to protect policymaking from industry influence. What can we do to reduce death and disability from Tobacco use? The prevalence—at approximately 29% of the adult population—remains stubbornly high in Europe and is increasing among females in some European countries. This despite the fact that effective and cost effective interventions to control and eliminate tobacco use exist and are well known. The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated several strategies which are effective in curtailing the use of tobacco .These approaches include using increased price, through taxation, as a tool to reduce tobacco use. The use of smoke-free legislation to prevent exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in the workplace is also important in preventing cancer because SHS is also a known carcinogen. The banning of advertising, sponsorship, and promotion of tobacco is an effective and a widespread intervention to help reduce tobacco use and the use of strong antismoking advertising has also been shown to be effective. WHO recommends the monitoring of smoking and the provision of cessation programs to help smokers stop smoking. This treatment of tobacco dependence is particularly covered by Article 14 of the FCTC. In Art.14 of the FCTC governments are urged to ‘facilitate accessibility and affordability for treatment of tobacco dependence’ (World Health Organization, 2015). According to the 2014 FCTC implementation report, the implementation of services to support cessation of tobacco use in line with Article 14 can and should be significantly improved (World Health Organization, 2014). Yet there seems to date to be little progress. Price as a control intervention The relationship between a rise in price and a fall in tobacco consumption is clear; however, a number of important aspects of this relationship must be considered. Lower socioeconomic groups and younger people are most sensitive to price increase as a deterrent, whereas in higher socioeconomic groups, price is not necessarily a determining factor. The use of price as an instrument to reduce tobacco use is usually opposed by the tobacco industry and its allies. The industry and its representatives usually try to persuade finance ministers that a price increase will lead to a loss of revenue through an increase in smuggling, although the evidence from many studies is that a rise in tobacco price leads to an increase in revenue and a reduction in cigarette consumption. Taxation is an effective, highly cost-effective and very powerful tool available to governments if they want to prevent cancer and the many other diseases which are caused by tobacco. Smoke free policies Since Ireland introduced its comprehensive national smoke-free legislation in 2004, many European countries have followed Ireland’s lead, but not all of those have introduced laws as comprehensive as Ireland’s. Nevertheless, all 27 EU member state countries have initiated some form of smokefree strategy. To date, 14 EU member states have enacted laws which ban smoking in all indoor workplaces including bars, restaurants, and clubs; however, a number of countries with significant populations such as Germany and Poland have only limited smoke-free laws. It is encouraging that Russia, where smoking prevalence is very high (more than 50%), introduced its smoke-free measure on June 1, 2013, banning smoking in airports, train stations, stadiums, schools, playgrounds, hospitals, government institutions, beaches, and places of employment. Tougher smoking fines were signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on October 21, 201 The importance of smoke-free policies for cancer prevention is high. SHS is a definite cause of cancer and is defined as Class 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The number of cancers caused by SHS can be calculated, but smoke-free policies have other cancer prevention benefits. They discourage young people from starting to smoke, encourage smokers to quit, and help former smokers stay off smoking and promote an attitude of denormalisation of smoking. Smoking has often been regarded as a normal social activity despite the fact that it is addictive, is a cause of great inequality, and contributes significantly to disease, disability, and death. Smoke-free policies can achieve their positive effect by educating about the health benefits, limiting opportunities to smoke, and promoting an attitude of denormalisation of smoking.

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    PR02 - Press Conference: Active Prevention (ID 388)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Press Conference
    • Track:
    • Presentations: 1
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      PR02.04 - Tobacco Control (ID 7207)

      10:30 - 10:30  |  Author(s): L. Clancy

      • Abstract
      • Presentation

      Abstract not provided

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