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PROTECTING
CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO: aims and endorsing organisations
A common excuse for
not doing more about tobacco is that we don't want to be a "Nanny
State."
Unfortunately, young people - including children
- are still the tobacco industry's
prime targets. At least 80% of smokers start before they turn 18, half
before 16. They
often seek to emulate young adults, and are influenced by
smoking associated with films, TV, music, fashion or sport.
The tobacco companies know this. Their own
documents show their many strategies for recruiting "new
smokers" - a euphemism for children.
Tobacco companies often make that Mother of all
Motherhood Statements, "We don't want children to smoke". But
they lobby aggressively against evidence-based measures to reduce smoking among both adults and young
people.
Overseas: see Philip
Morris opposes proven measures to reduce child smoking:
Tobacco-Free
Kids release 15/7/05 ... and in Australia: see
(2008) Philip Morris scares retailers - and the truth about their arguments
Look at
the Tobacco
Industry's record on targeting children - and some of
their marketing
ploys aimed at youth.
Words are cheap.
Protecting Children
from Tobacco, a national coalition of health, medical,
child welfare, educational, church, social equity, community and
research organisations, wants effective action to protect children from tobacco - and
no "but(t)s".
AIMS of
Protecting Children from Tobacco partners
NEWS - new moves, research and developments on protecting kids
RESEARCH
EVIDENCE for measures to protect children
RESOURCES - including ASH factsheets and video
STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
- national / world scoresheet
ILLEGAL SUPPLY TO CHILDREN
In
and out
of kids' faces: Australian convenience store 2006.... and supermarket
2010
See Tobacco in
and out of sight in shops: more pics
In Australia, there are 35,000 tobacco
retail outlets - not just tobacconists but supermarkets, petrol
stations, newsagents and newsstands, bottle shops, convenience stores and corner
shops. Thousands of these still have tobacco in full view.
Pricewaterhouse report 2005,
"Sales of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products by Type of Retail
Business"
Exposure to retail displays
encourages children to smoke: see RESEARCH
EVIDENCE
AIMS
The aims below are endorsed
by PROTECTING
CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO :
over 40 children's, parents', teachers', health, welfare, church, social
equity and
research organisations. ASH is among these.
These organisations
support legislation in all states and territories to ensure that:
- All tobacco products
are out of sight in
all retail outlets.
See tobacco displays in full view - and how many are being put OUT OF
SIGHT!
Why
tobacco displays should be banned with No
messy exceptions & exemptions
- No staff under 18 are allowed to
be involved with selling tobacco.
See Why
children should not sell tobacco
- There
is comprehensive
licensing/registration of tobacco
sellers. See
The
case for licensing tobacco sellers See
Licensing
of tobacco retailers & wholesalers: Desirability and Best Practice
Arrangements (2002 report to Commonwealth Health Dept)
- Cars carrying children
are smokefree. See
background and factsheet on
smokefree cars
- Public places highly
frequented by children, such as playgrounds, public swimming pools and
food service areas, are smokefree. See
smokefree
public places
- There
is a total ban on the sale of tobacco products targeted at youth.
- There is a total ban on
the sale of
tobacco from temporary outlets including music events and vending machines. see pics
and ASH
media release 4/8/07
- Laws against
sale of tobacco to children are strengthened, with increasing penalties for breaking them.
ASH Australia would also like to see...
- Better funding of campaigns to reduce
smoking
Especially among children;
but note that reducing smoking among young adults will help to
achieve this, since teenagers emulate what they see young adults do
or what they think young adults do.
- Stronger action against tobacco
promotion in films
Young people
seeing smoking in films tend to smoke more. Most top Australian
movies show smoking. We want to reduce this impact by
mandating "counter-ads" before any film with smoking.
See Cancer Council NSW page on Smoking
in movies
- An end to devious tobacco promotion
under different names.
See some of Big Tobacco's latest dubious
marketing
ploys (and see our slideshow Tobacco
marketing below the line)
NEWS
... FROM AUSTRALIA
Call for full protection of pregnant women
from secondhand smoke after studies show foetal harm
12/2/10: Health and child welfare groups have made an urgent call for dining and
drinking areas and other workplaces to be made smokefree after a major international review of
studies on impact of passive smoking on pregnancy confirmed it causes lower
birthweight and increased birth abnormalities. The review of 76 articles,
involving data from over 130,000 women, concluded that exposed women "have
increased risks of infants with lower birthweight, congenital anomalies, longer
lengths, and trends towards smaller head circumferences..." See
ASH / Protecting
Children from tobacco media release 12/2/10 and review
abstract
Happy
New Year: Tobacco out of sight in NSW and ACT shops
29/1/10: Tobacco products have gone out of sight in
all retail outlets except tobacconists in the ACT, and "larger"
retailers (more than 50 employees) in NSW. "Smaller" shops will
follow by July 1, 2010. See
NSWhealth
info including legislation and factsheets These reforms
weathered an aggressive tobacco industry scare campaign: see
Philip Morris scares retailers - and the truth about their arguments
-
Contrast
in NSW as some shops get tobacco out of sight... and some don't
Check out these two contrasting pics
(courtesy of NSMA) taken at Minto, on the outskirts of Sydney: first, good
to see some larger retailers putting tobacco out of sight in advance
of the 1/1/10 NSW deadline - like this IGA
supermarket ! Then on the other side of the responsibility
coin is this CTC
tobacconist with cigarettes on display right behind the big
gumball machine - associating a deadly, addictive drug with sweet treats
in full view of children. A long delay before
tobacconists must get rid of shockers like this.
The
ACT government put tobacco out of sight in most
shops by the end of 2009, and tobacconists must follow by end-2010 - the
fastest deadline of any Australian state or territory. The new laws will
also ban tobacco vending machines, flavoured/scented cigarettes,
and remove tobacco from shopper reward schemes. The ACT is also
considering submissions on protecting children from secondhand smoke in
cars - most submissions very supportive. See
ACT
Tobacco Act and Information
on the changes from 28/2/09 See Canberra
Times report 1/3/09 Minister's
earlier release on cars 2/2/09 ASH
submission Protecting
Children from Tobacco coalition submission
NT
commits to key child protection measures
29/1/10: The NT government has confirmed
that by January 2011all tobacco products must be out of sight in shops,
and outdoor child-accessible eating and drinking areas must be smokefree
by the same date. A consultative taskforce is working on the
details. ASH Australia
Victorian
children safe from smoke in cars
27/1/10: A new law to make cars carrying children under 18
smokefree has come into effect in Victoria - following similar laws
taking effect in SA, Tasmania and NSW. The Tobacco Amendment (Protection of Children) Act
2009 will also put all tobacco products out of sight in shops from Jan 2011;
end sales of cigarettes from temporary outlets - e.g. race days, music
festivals; and ban tobacco products targeting young people. See
the
bill at introduction See Victorian
government strategy
ACT dining and drinking areas to be smokefree
8/12/09: The ACT Assembly has passed new laws making all public eating and drinking areas 100% smokefree, however enclosed or otherwise, by the end of 2010. Children's events will also be smokefree.
See ABC
News report 8/12/09
Study
of smoke harm for children shows urgency of smokefree public places
24/11/09: A study showing secondhand smoke harm to blood vessels of
toddlers shows why we need public places - especially outdoor dining areas
- 100% smokefree. Protecting Children from Tobacco has urged all
Australian jurisdiction to follow Queensland's example. See
Protecting
Children from Tobacco media release 24/11/09
Queensland
protects children from smoke in cars
30/10/09: Cars carrying children under 16 will be smokefree by law from
January 1, 2010 - and the state government will support local councils
making shopping centres and bus stops smokefree. See
Brisbane
Times report 30/10/09
See Queensland
tobacco laws
ACT
moves for smokefree outdoor eating/drinking and underage events
15/10/09:
ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has introduced a bill to make all
public eating and drinking places smokefree by December 1 2010, as well as
underage events of whatever enclosure. See
ACT
government media release 15/10/09
WA
tobacco act becomes law See
WA
bill and explanation under T: "Tobacco...2008"
22/9/09:
A new law to reform Western Australia's smokefree and anti-tobacco
promotion laws has become law, to take effect in September 2010. The new Act protects children, employees and public health by:
-
Ending
tobacco display in shops;
-
Making
cars carrying children under 17 smokefree;
-
Making
children's playgrounds and patrolled beaches smokefree;
-
Making
unlicensed al fresco dining areas, and 50% of licensed al
frescoes, smokefree; and
-
Strengthening
rights of employees to refuse to work in smoking areas.
Tobacco's
new discount and promotion push
4/7/09: Tobacco companies are pushing new discount offers and inducing
retailers to promote them aggressively. Health groups are calling for a
substantial and overdue tax increase and closing loopholes to stop the new
drive to hook young smokers. See
ASH media
release 4/7/09
Liberals'
Abbott told: protecting children from smoke not "trivial"
2/7/09: the Protecting Children from Tobacco coalition
has expressed strong concern over remarks by Federal Opposition
frontbencher Tony Abbott that laws to protect children from secondhand
smoke in cars are "trivial". PCFT has asked for clarification
and reassurance by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull that the views are
not shared by the party's leaders. See
PCFT
coalition media release 2/7/09 and ABC
report of Abbott remarks
Wagga
beats BAT to protect children, workers
31/3/09:
Wagga Wagga City Council (NSW) has been applauded for its decision to go
ahead with smokefree playgrounds and al fresco dining areas in the
face of aggressive tobacco industry interference. See
ASH media
release 31/3/09 ASH wrote to Wagga Councillors answering misleading
lobbying by tobacco giant British American Tobacco Australia. BATA tried to derail the smokefree al fresco
move by wrongly claiming it would hurt business and was opposed by tobacco control experts, and that
BATA's Butt Littering Trust offered "evidence-based" alternatives. See
ASH media
release 27/11/08 See
excerpts
from BATA letter and ASH response Meanwhile
community support continues to soar for smokefree dining.
See NSW survey findings in Aust
& NZ Journal of Public Health article
Tobacco
industry's tricky fashion ploy
15/12/08: Cigarettes were sold in upmarket fashion and hair outlets in an
Imperial Tobacco campaign to lure young people into smoking. The promotion
was later withdrawn after public protests. See
Sunday
Mail, SA 14/12/08
QANTAS stops pushing
tobacco
29/10/08: Following a campaign by ASH and other concerned groups and
individuals, QANTAS has confirmed it has stopped a trial promotion of
duty-free cigarettes on in-flight trolleys in view of children. We
congratulate QANTAS for its responsible decision. See
earlier ASH
media release
NT flags tobacco out of
sight in shops and sellers licensed
18/7/08: The Northern Territory government is proposing to ban smoking
indoors in pubs, and also to put tobacco out of sight in shops by January
2010 and license
sellers. See Minister
Chris Burns media release 18/7/08
Ministers agree on national ban of
fruity cigarettes by end of 2009
23/5/08: Australian Health Ministers at the Ministerial Council on Drug
Strategy have agreed that all states and territories will enact
legislation to prohibit the sale of fruit- and confectionery-flavoured
cigarettes by December 2009. MCDS
communique 23/5/08
Cigarettes keep selling - because
they're still in our faces
5/3/08: Tobacco is top of the grocery sales lists, occupying the No.
1 spot and 6 of the top 7. The latest Nielsen survey shows how hard it
is to reduce smoking rates while cigarettes are promoted at such high
visibility. See ASH
media release 5/3/08
Study says displays
undermine quitting... as Tas sets 3-year deadline
22/11/07: A study has shown quit attempts are undermined by
tobacco displays in shops - as Tasmania's parliament moves to end
displays by February 2011. See
ASH /
Protecting Children for Tobacco media release 22/11/07
Call for generic (plain)
packaging
August 2007: A compelling
case is being made for plain packaging of
tobacco. See
2007 report
with illustrations
.... FROM OVERSEAS
Ireland puts tobacco out of
sight in shops Details
at ASH Ireland
1/7/09: The Republic of Ireland has put tobacco out of sight at
retail outletspoint of sale tobacco along with
other measures to protect children including: introduction
of a closed container / dispenser provision; tighter
controls on the location and operation of tobacco vending machines;
and introduction
of a retail register for tobacco retailers.
See below for detail of other countries that have taken this step.
NZ government caves in to retailer
pressure
24/2/09: The New Zealand government has accepted flawed
retailer arguments and backed away from putting tobacco products out of
sights in shops. Prime Minister John Key says there's "no
evidence" the move would save lives, and retailers have convinced
him it would cost them too much.
See
NZPA
/ Melbourne Age report 24/2/09 "No
evidence"??? See latest RESEARCH
EVIDENCE
See independent NZ study abstract
showing retailer
arguments "contradictory, flawed, unsupported by evidence"
BAT accused of targeting African children
July 2008: Check this BBC
documentaryon
British American Tobacco targeting African children with tobacco
promotion. Is
this a socially responsible corporate citizen? "We
don't want children to smoke" (now where have we heard that
before?) - see BAT
response
UK doctors urge governments to protect
children
6/7/08: The British Medical Association has urged UK governments to
crack down on promotion of tobacco to children in retail, films and
other entertainment. The BMA proposes a total out-of-sight policy for
tobacco in shops
and proactive measures to counter positive images of
smoking. See
BMA
release 6/7/08 with link to full report
Scotland plans smokefree future including
protecting children
22/5/08: Displays of cigarettes in shops are set to become a thing of
the past as part of the Scottish Government's continuing drive to stop
smoking and tobacco promotion to children. See
Scottish
government plan Proposals
include legislating to restrict display of
tobacco products at points of sale; updating statutory controls on tobacco
sales, with a view to introducing licensing; banning mini-packs and reducing sales
to youth from vending machines; cracking down on smuggled and
counterfeit cigarettes; and considering moves towards plain
packaging of cigarettes.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE for measures to
protect children from tobacco
Call for
full protection of pregnant women from secondhand smoke after studies show
foetal harm
12/2/10: Health and child welfare groups have made an urgent call for
dining and drinking areas and other workplaces to be made smokefree after
a major international review of
studies on impact of passive smoking on pregnancy confirmed it causes lower
birthweight and increased birth abnormalities. The review of 76 articles,
involving data from over 130,000 women, concluded that exposed women "have
increased risks of infants with lower birthweight, congenital anomalies, longer
lengths, and trends towards smaller head circumferences..." See
ASH /
Protecting Children from tobacco media release 12/2/10 and
review
abstract
Babies'
exposure boosts adult emphysema risk
25/11/09: Prenatal and postnatal exposure of babies to secondhand
smoke increases their risk of emphysema as adults, says a study of 1700
non-smokers in the American Journal of Epidemiology. See
study
abstract
Secondhand
exposure doubles children's lung cancer risk
December 2009: Secondhand
smoke exposure during childhood is associated with a more than doubled
lung cancer risk among never smokers, says a study in Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. See
study
abstract
Secondhand
smoke doubles and worsens chronic rhinosinusitis
Nov-Dec 2009: Childhood or current exposure to secondhand smoke more
than doubles risk of chronic rhinosinusitis, suggests a Johns Hopkins
University study in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy. Severity
of the disease, which can causes nasal blockage, discharge and headaches,
may also be worsened. See
study
abstract
Study of
smoke harm for children shows urgency of smokefree public places
24/11/09: A study showing secondhand smoke harm to blood vessels of
toddlers shows why we need public places - especially outdoor dining areas
- 100% smokefree. See
Protecting
Children from Tobacco media release 24/11/09
Secondhand
smoke exposure increases preschoolers' behaviour problems
29/9/09: A survey of parents of over 5000 preschool-aged children in
Bavaria, Germany, shows that exposure to secondhand smoke at home
increases the reported incidence of hyperactivity/inattentiveness
behaviour problems - more than doubling the incidence in children most
exposed. The authors conclude that "Prevention
of behavioural problems may be a further reason to target secondhand
tobacco smoke exposure in children." Twardella
et al (2009) in Acta Paediatrica - see study
abstract
Exposure
to shop display increases youth smoking
9/10/09: A study in Tobacco Control shows greater
exposure to tobacco displays at point of sale is linked with increased
youth smoking. The NZ study of 28,000 students aged 14-15 found youth
exposure to shop displays " strongly associated" with starting and
continuing smoking. Its authors recommend that "point
of sale displays should be included as a part of a comprehensive ban on
tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship." Paynter
et al, doi:10.1136/tc.2008.027482 Tobacco Control 2009;18;268-274 See full
study pdf
Next
steps in regulating tobacco retail: review
22/9/09: Tobacco
retailing remains largely unregulated, and the FCTC treaty only
addresses limited aspects. This contrasts strongly with pharmaceuticals and
other strongly restricted goods and services. This international review
looks at the reasons and proposes new debate on retail regulation
including number and location of retail outlets; price controls and purchase
caps; and making tobacco retail licenses heavily restricted and
tradeable.
See abstract
Full text available by emailing sc@med.usyd.edu.au
Children's
passive smoking may clog their arteries at an early age
24/7/09: It's not just older people's arteries that can be clogged
by secondhand smoke exposure, suggests a new study in the European Heart
Journal - children can suffer this harm at an early age. The Protecting
Children from Tobacco coalition says the finding lends weight to its call
for all child-accessible areas to be made smokefree by law. See
Protecting
Children from Tobacco media release 24/7/09 with
link to the study abstract
Watching
smoky movies can double teen uptake
30/3/09: Exposure to high levels of smoking scenes in movies can
double smoking uptake between early teens and young adulthood, says a US
study in Pediatrics journal. The authors tracked 1,790 non-smoking
children aged 10-14 for seven years. Those exposed to most smoking in films were twice as likely to be
established smokers as those of lowest exposure. See
study
Retailer arguments defending
tobacco displays slammed by NZ report
2/7/08: Study and research review in the NZ
Medical Journal has
blasted retailer arguments in NZ against an out-of-sight policy (under
consideration there) as
“contradictory, flawed and unsupported by evidence.” The
same arguments are being put to Australian governments by tobacco
dealers. See ASH
media release 2/7/08
See
NZMJ
study abstract
See NZ
legislative review
Displays of tobacco lure
teens like lollies: study
Cigarette displays raise teenagers'
risk of becoming smokers, says a 2008 study presented to a health
conference in New Zealand. The survey of 27,000
NZ teens found that the more 14-15 year olds visited shops
with tobacco displays, the greater their risk of uptake. A world
research review also confirmed significant display impact on child and adult
smoking. See
Paynter et al study
presentation
Study shows smoking in
cars hazardous to health
20/3/08:
Canadian study confirms that smoking in a car presents a serious health risk
to occupants, especially children - and ventilation does not remove the
hazard. The study measured
secondhand smoke levels after one cigarette was smoked in 18 different
cars - and found the worst examples were more hazardous than
indoor-smoky bars. See
Canada
TV report
See full
study
Tobacco shop displays normalise
tobacco and predispose
children to smoke
Australian study from The Cancer
Council Victoria shows how removing tobacco products from view would
help reduce encouragement of kids to smoke. See
ASH media
release 2/6/06 with link to study
Tobacco retail activity
affects nearby school smoking rates
A Canadian study has found a link between retail tobacco activity -
displays, lower prices - and the smoking rates in nearby schools. See
the study
Tobacco displays
undermine quitting
An Australian study has shown quit attempts are undermined by
tobacco displays in shops. See
ASH /
Protecting Children for Tobacco media release 22/11/07

Aims
and endorsing organisations
RESOURCES
FACTSHEETS on
Protecting Children from Tobacco:
Brief 2-page
Summary
of the retail display issue
Why
tobacco displays should be banned
The
truth about retailer claims misleading our
governments
Leading adman says: Product
display is advertising
No exceptions, no exemptions
Why
children should not sell tobacco
The
case for licensing tobacco sellers
Kids
in smoky cars
See also our 2006
factsheet Tobacco
Facts
on retail display
Tobacco displays: mini-documentary
The Cancer Society of New Zealand has recently released a
mini-doco on the issue of tobacco displays. View
trailer
and link to full version
Tear Down the Walls
30/4/08 comment piece in the Ottawa Citizen makes a
very good, reasoned analysis of why tobacco display "powerwalls"
have so much impact on kids and why they should be removed. See
the
article
Tear Down the Wall - Kiwi
kids' vid
See this effective "racetrack" video made by New Zealand
children supporting the campaign to "Tear Down the Walls"
("powerwalls" of tobacco shop displays). See
the YouTube
video
See our 6min video (2006):
PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO
Young people speak on retail displays
See it at YouTube
or download as...
(may take some
minutes, depending on connection speed etc)
Note: the
above video was made in 2006 and since then, the figure for the number
of children smoking regularly has fallen - it is not now 205,000 but
around 140,000. This is still an appalling figure - and if every child
smoker is one too many, then every square metre of tobacco display is a
square metre too much.
STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
TOBACCO OUT OF SIGHT IN
SHOPS:
Australia
ACT, NSW, Tasmania, Victoria and
WA have legislated to end tobacco displays in shops.
- ACT
for all shops except tobacconists by end-2009, tobacconists by end-2010;
- NSW for
large shops by end-2009, smaller shops by mid-2010, tobacconists by 2013;
- WA by Sept. 2010;
- Victoria by Jan. 2011;
- Tasmania for all but a few
tobacconists by Feb. 2011.
The NT
has committed to regulation to take effect by Jan. 2011. Qld and SA have only
display size limits.
Worldwide trend see
latest
Three countries and most of two more have adopted laws to prohibit the visible display of tobacco
products at point of purchase. The list of
those with legislation already passed:
-
Iceland
(in effect from 2001, the first country)
-
Thailand
(in effect)
-
Republic
of Ireland (in effect)
-
Canada:
12 provinces (Saskatchewan was the first)
-
Australia:
5 jurisdictions (Tasmania, NSW, ACT, Victoria, WA) plus NT expected by
Jan.2011
Source:
ASH Australia, Canadian Cancer Society
LICENSING:
SA, WA, Tas and ACT require tobacco sellers to be licensed. NSW has passed a limited "negative" licensing scheme.
CARS CARRYING CHILDREN SMOKEFREE:
- In force in SA, Tasmania, NSW and Victoria
- WA and Queensland have legislated to take effect within the next year
- ACT has introduced legislation
.... leaving only the NT yet to act.
At least three US states have also
enacted it.
SMOKEFREE CHILD-ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC PLACES AND EVENTS:
See
ASH smokefree
public places webpage
Queensland, by statewide law, has smokefree outdoor dining areas, children's
playgrounds, beaches and some other areas. WA has passed legislation to
cover most outdoor dining areas, as well as playgrounds and patrolled beaches. ACT
has moved to make all public eating and drinking areas smokefree by Dec 2010, and will also
protect all underage
events of whatever enclosure from smoke. Tasmania has covered at least 50% of each venue's outdoor dining areas;
and ACT and
Victoria its schoolgrounds. Other public places have been protected from
smoke by local councils.
VENDING MACHINES AND
TEMPORARY OUTLETS:
ACT has banned tobacco vending machines, NSW has limited it to ID-token
system; NSW and Victoria have banned tobacco sales from temporary/mobile
structures at festivals and
other events.
PRODUCTS TARGETING YOUTH:
Several jurisdictions have acted against individual youth-targeted products;
all states and territories have agreed to prohibit the sale of fruit- and confectionery-flavoured
cigarettes by end-2009.
CHILDREN SELLING TOBACCO:
Unlike alcohol, there has been little or no movement to ban under-18 staff
from selling tobacco products by law - though some major supermarkets have
policies to this effect. Smaller retailers have argued that the impact
on small family businesses would be too great.
ILLEGAL SUPPLY TO CHILDREN
Even though it's illegal to supply cigarettes to
children, over 140,000 Australian school children are weekly smokers -
and 23% obtain their cigarettes from retailers - including over a third
of 16-17-year-olds. See
National Drug Strategy's Smoking
behaviours of Australian secondary students (2005)
Follow these links for more
information for school
students and staff;
for tertiary
students and staff; for parents.
Tips
for taking tobacco action
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