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University of San Diego establishes Center for Tobacco and Environment

The University of San Diego in the US will conduct research into the environmental damage caused by the tobacco industry from a new Center for Tobacco and the Environment. Further in Short foreign news: JTI reaches British politicians with report on illegal trade / Number of New Zealand smokers falls to record low / Irish government takes action against e-cigarettes / Screening for lung cancer of former and current smokers over 50 helps.

 

A new center affiliated with the University of San Diego (SDU) in California will focus on tobacco and environmental pollution. The tobacco industry consumes 600 million trees and 22 billion tons of water annually, producing 84 million tons of carbon dioxide. Carcinogenic particles in tobacco smoke remain as a residue on clothing, furniture and upholstery in the home and upholstery of cars. The waste of tobacco products, especially the billions of plastic cigarette filters, pollutes the earth and water. That is why SDU wants to do more research with the new Center for Tobacco and the Environment (CTE) into the consequences of tobacco use for the environment and how these can be tackled and solved. Researchers with a specialization in biology, chemistry, communication, economics, geography, policy research, psychology and public health will work together.

 

The awareness of the environmental damage caused by tobacco production and use now seems to have consequences for the tobacco industry. For example, the city of Baltimore has sued the tobacco industry. She wants the industry to pay for the costs incurred by the city in cleaning up polluting butts that have ended up on the street.

 

JTI reaches British politicians with report on illegal trade

Japan Tobacco International (JTI), one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, has called on the UK Customs Service (HRMC) to take action against illegal trade. Research by JTI would have shown that the British treasury has lost 51.3 billion pounds (60 billion euros) in excise revenues since the year 2000. According to JTI, 95 shops in North West England were guilty of selling illegal cigarettes, rolling tobacco and e-cigarettes.buy e cigarette direct for more details. It is remarkable that JTI was able to present its research results to British politicians during a parliamentary reception. The politicians have thus violated the international anti-smoking treaty FCTC, which states that they must keep the tobacco industry at bay. The industry has long used the illegal trade argument to argue against increases in excise duty, which would stimulate illegal trade.

 

The United Kingdom has signed the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products of the World Health Organization (WHO), through which it is working with other countries (including the Netherlands) to combat illicit trade. Part of the protocol is that the countries do this without cooperation with the tobacco industry, because it has been found in the past that the industry itself cooperates in the smuggling.

Read more at Convenience Store

 

The number of New Zealand smokers falls to an all-time low

In New Zealand, the number of smokers fell to 8 percent, a decrease of 1.4 percent in one year. The number of smokers has never been so low in New Zealand. The government has long worked to create a smoke-free generation to protect future generations from the dangers of tobacco use and promote public health. For example, it is the first country in the world to pass a law with an age-related smoking ban, so that people who are now 14 years old or younger can never purchase tobacco. New Zealand is well on its way to achieving its goal of being smoke-free by 2025. This is the case if less than 5 percent of the population still smokes. However, there is a caveat to the decrease in the number of smokers, because the number of e-cigarette users increased from 6.2 to 8.3 percent last year.

Read more in The Guardian

 

Irish government takes action against e-cigarettes

The Irish government wants to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to people under the age of 18. “Vapes” must also disappear from vending machines. The government wants to ensure that young people no longer experiment with the very popular e-cigarette. That is why the number of points of sale should also be limited and advertising should be banned around schools, places where children gather and at children’s events. This also applies to public transport, which is widely used by young people. According to the WHO, there are about 16,000 different types of e-cigarettes for sale worldwide. Research shows that they can be a stepping stone to tobacco use. Children who use e-cigarettes have, according to the Irish Health Research Board five times more likely to also try traditional cigarettes.

 

Screening former and current smokers over 50 helps

Screening former and current smokers over the age of 50 for lung cancer could quadruple their chances of survival. This is according to research from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The current survival rate among lung cancer patients is 19 percent.best e liquids of mr joy is found online.This can be increased to 80 percent with preventive screening. That’s because symptoms of lung cancer don’t reveal themselves until later. Most lung cancer patients do not live much longer than a year after diagnosis. Slightly less than a fifth make it to five years. By examining current and former smokers aged 50+ with a CT scan every year, cancer can be detected at an early stage and treated more effectively.