By Matthew Rimmer, Australian National University The High Court of Australia’s ruling on the plain packaging of tobacco products is one of the great constitutional cases of our age. The ruling will resonate throughout the world – as other countries will undoubtedly seek to emulate Australia’s plain packaging regime. Having announced its ruling some weeks […]
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European Parliamentary Committee and Japan Tobacco: a violation of article 5.3 of the FCTC?
Andrew Rowell and Anna Gilmore Bath University, UK On 17 September 2012, the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control held a public hearing on tobacco smuggling under the auspices of its Hercule III programme. Hercule III’s primary operational objective is to improve ‘the prevention and investigation of fraud, smuggling and counterfeiting, especially of cigarettes, […]
Tasmania: leading the way towards an endgame for smoking
Kathryn Barnsley, University of Tasmania The island state of Tasmania off the south coast of Australia has a population of around 500,000 and has high smoking rates, and lower socio-economic status, compared to other states in Australia. Over the past fifteen years Tasmania has implemented a range of legislative reforms designed to reduce tobacco use. […]
Stub It Out: a New Media Resource to Support an Innovative Cessation initiative
Nathan Cowie, Centre for Tobacco Control Research, University of Auckland. 12 September 2012 Stub It Out is a free game developed for Apple’s iPad by a small multidisciplinary team at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The game was released on the App Store last month. The game is designed to be a resource […]
Obituary: Dr Weng Xin Zhi, China’s “Grandfather of Tobacco Control” (1919-2012)
Judith Mackay, World Lung Foundation 28 August 2012 The pioneer of tobacco control in China has died at the age of 93. In 1984, Doctor Weng Xin Zhi published the first national adult smoking survey, the landmark study awakening the Chinese government to the enormity of the tobacco problem. It was also published in English, […]
Child labour and the tobacco industry in Pakistan
Thanks to our colleagues from The Network for Consumer Protection, Pakistan who provided the information and video in this post. (www.thenetwork.org.pk) This video shows children in northwest Pakistan preparing tobacco leaves to be sent for drying. Children as young as five years old also work in tobacco farming, where they are vulnerable to poisoning from […]
Phillip Morris, a drinking competition and a death
On April 7 this year, a 29 year old man died unnecessarily. Not due to smoking cigarettes, but from consuming alcohol shots at an illegal event sponsored by Phillip Morris Fortune Tobacco Company in The Philippines. His sister Catherine Maralit has started an online petition to bring those responsible to account. She writes: “Last April […]
Does tobacco deserve trade protection?
The use of trade agreements by tobacco companies to undermine tobacco control was a key topic at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapore in March this year, and trade agreements are one of the weapons the tobacco industry is counting on to fight plain packaging. To ensure public health is given higher priority than […]
Big Tobacco crashes at first legal hurdle on plain packaging
This post first is republished from The Conversation. By Simon Chapman, University of Sydney This morning Australia’s High Court dismissed the plain tobacco packaging case brought against the Australian government by the world’s largest tobacco companies. The companies had challenged the government’s new law – due to be fully implemented from December 1 this year. […]
SPAIN: VANITY FAIR ‘RETRO’ COVER BEHIND THE TIMES
by Marita Hefler, TC News Editor Vanity Fair magazine is well-known for its iconic covers – more than 20 years ago, it caused quite a stir when it featured US actress Demi Moore naked and pregnant; a cover now widely considered ground breaking. However it seems to have seriously misjudged the times with the July […]