Smoking-related cancer twice as prevalent among poor in England
Overall cancer rates are higher among the wealthy, finds Cancer Research UK – but smoking and its cancers are now concentrated among the poor. Smoking causes almost twice as many cancer cases among the poor than the well-off, according to new findings that underline the close link between cigarettes and deprivation. About 11,247 cases of cancer...
Big Tobacco’s price games undermine tobacco taxation
Taxation is the most effective form of tobacco control, but the tobacco industry uses a variety of sophisticated pricing strategies to undermine tax increases. When a government budget announces an increase on the price of a packet of cigarettes, the tobacco company just passes it on to the consumer, right? No, not quite, according to...
Opinion: Looking away will not end child labor in tobacco fields
The tobacco industry likes to portray itself as a positive economic force. Yet tobacco farmers across Africa face a harsh economic reality: The industry derives such huge profits in part because it maneuvers to pay as little as possible for the crop that is the basis for its products. This practice is unfair and perpetuates inequality. What’s...
PMI’s surprise embrace of a cigarette-free future must not distract from tobacco control
As its behaviour in emerging markets makes clear, the tobacco industry's post-cigarette rhetoric only seems to apply to the Western markets where it is losing ground. The CEO of Philip Morris International (PMI), Jacek Olczak, has made a surprising request for the UK government to abolish traditional cigarettes by 2030–including his own. The tobacco executive told the Mail...
WHO awards Botswana activist for anti-tobacco advocacy
Botswana’s renowned anti-tobacco activist Alice Mbongwe has received special recognition from World Health Organization (WHO) for her advocacy on tobacco control. Mbongwe is an employee of University of Botswana (UB) and also director of the Anti-Tobacco Network (ATN). Josephine Namboze, WHO executive director for Botswana on Tuesday said Mbongwe is one of six African awardees this...
Nigeria: ‘FG should anticipate pushback over pictorial warnings on tobacco products’
Chibuike Nwokorie is the Project Officer with the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, NTCA. In this interview, he bares his mind on the new policy on Pictorial Health Warnings, PHWs, which must be on all tobacco products manufactured and sold in Nigeria starting June 23, and other sundry issues on tobacco control in Nigeria. Excerpts: How do...
Misinformation, attacks from NGOs obstruct tobacco harm reduction in LMICs
Misinformation and attacks from well-funded international non-government organizations are among the key obstacles to the adoption of tobacco harm reduction (THR) and mitigation of deaths from smoking in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to health policy experts. Representatives from countries like India, Ukraine, Kenya, and Mexico enumerated the factors that are hindering LMICs from...
Europe: Parliament draft report pushes for tax hike on all tobacco products
A draft of a new report from the European Parliament’s Beating Cancer Committee does not distinguish between cigarettes and novel tobacco products on key points, signalling a tighter position on tobacco control, with some lawmakers already mobilising to challenge this. Once passed, the report by the BECA committee will serve as the institution’s position on...
England: Smoking responsible for twice as many cancers in most deprived groups
Smoking is responsible for nearly twice as many cancer cases in lower income groups compared to higher income groups, according to new estimates by Cancer Research UK. Over 11,000 cases of cancer were linked to smoking in the lowest income group, compared to around 6,000 in the highest. Decades of glitzy packaging and marketing by the...
BATNF clinches two awards at the West Africa Innovation Awards
July 29, 2021 was a day of honour for the British American Tobacco Nigerian Foundation (BATNF) as it clinched two awards for excellence in sustainability, namely ‘Best Sustainability in Agriculture’ and ‘Best Sustainability in Youth and Economic Development’ at the West Africa Innovation Awards held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. The West...
