Listen to the Tobacco Pushers Squeal!

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ajapale

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Smoking ban sees tobacco sales drop
29/06/2004 - 13:26:09

The sale of tobacco dropped following the introduction of the smoking-ban in the workplace, an international tobacco company revealed today.

The Gallagher Group said the amount of tobacco sold in Ireland in the first five months of this year had dropped by 9.3% due to inflation costs.

A statement from the firm said: “There are signs of some initial volume impact from the ban on smoking in the workplace, which came into force at the end of March.

“It is too early to assess the extent to which this reduction is due to short-term changes in trade buying patterns or to longer term changes in consumption.”

A trading update from the company put the 9.3% drop down to inflation duty increases which affected the affordability of products and hit border trade.

“The level of non-duty paid volume in the Republic of Ireland is expected to increase as a result of this taxation policy,” the Gallagher Group said.

At the end of last year the Government’s Budget pushed the price of a pack of cigarettes up by 25 cent, with measured increases on other tobacco products.

The increase in the price of 20 cigarettes meant a 4.3% rise, which was two points above the current rate of inflation of 2.3%.

The group, which produces cigarettes, cigar, pipe and handrolling tobacco products, said the amount of tobacco sold had increased by 6% during the first five months.

The trading update showed conditions in Europe have been difficult, with Austria, France and Germany experiencing declines due to disruption from increased taxation and cross-border trade.
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bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/bmj.38142.554479.AEv1

The facts speak for themselves.

The most interesting facts for me were:


1 The correlation between smoking and drinking
Current smoker 19.0 (units/week)
Non-smoker 8.3 (units/week)
* * * *
2. The benefit of quitting smoking at any stage
(this is selective but by no means biased, there are other stats for cancer of mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, pulmonary disease…etc.

Cause of death: Lung Cancer
No of deaths (1951-2001): 1052
Lifetime Non smokers 0.17 (1000 men/year)
Former smokers: 0.68 (1000 men/year)
Current smokers: 2.49 (1000 men/year)

Comment: The current smoker is 3.6 times more likely than the former smoker to die from lung cancer.


Breaking out the smokers figures
Cigarettes per day
1-14: 1.31 (1000 men/year)
15-24: 2.33 (1000 men/year)
>= 25 4.17 (1000 men/year)

Comment: The 25+ per day smoker is 25 times more likely to die of lung cancer than the non smoker.

3. There seems to be no correlation between smoking and high/low blood pressure
 
Hi NatChessman,
Thanks for the interesting comments but your link is to a different (but facinating) paper on the smoking habits of British Doctors.
Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctor
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. I wonder are the habits of a certain Scottish Socialist Doctor captured in the statistics.
ajapale
 
I didn't think there were any socialists left in New Labour ?!?!?

Someone better tell big Tony quickly, before the papers find out !!

:rollin
 
"Thanks for the interesting comments but your link is to a different (but fascinating) paper on the smoking habits of British Doctors"

AJP, are you on a go slow today? It’s the same paper! it looks at the effects of smoking. The study population is male doctors in UK (post 1951). This population was chosen because it was felt (and subsequently proven) that they would be an easy group to follow up, if they fall of the register they may be dead! Also it was felt that in general they would have good records on themselves.

Another odd anomaly two died of burns sustained by smoking in bed...try to find a category for that!!
 
Yeah...I'd imagine a ban similar to ours is on the cards in Britain within the next five years.
 
Radio 4 had one of Labours policy wonks on the lunchtime show today, who said that a ban isn't a foregone conclusion. He highlighted the experience of governments in other countries where a ban had been introduced, and the incumbent government later received a kicking from the voters !!

Being a pragmatic politician, I wouldn't see a smoking ban on the mainland as a fait accompli
 
Hi Noel,

The UK Labour party are going to get a kicking anyhow! If they bring in a smoking ban it will simply be a convenient excuse to deflect attention from the real reasons.

Does any one (besides the self deluded publicans) seriously believe that many people voted against the government in the recent election solely because of the smoking ban?

Some research done by an outfit called "Amarach Consulting" shows that the ban is extreemly popular among ordinary people. www.amarach.com/


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Smoking ban a success, research shows
28/06/2004 - 15:01:08

The vast majority of consumers in Ireland feel the smoking ban has been a success with 89% stating that the ban has worked, 10% believing it has been unsuccessful and 2% saying they didn’t know.

Recent research by Amárach consulting showed that there are over one million smokers across the island, with 26% of the population classifying themselves as smokers.

The majority of smokers tended to be in the 25-50 year old bracket, with only 10% of those over 65 regarding themselves as regular smokers.

Of those that smoked, 46% were male and 54% female. Smoking was skewed towards social class, with 17% of professionals classifying themselves as smokers versus 31% of those in semi-skilled or unskilled labour.
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ajapale
 
!

----------------------------------------------
Being a pragmatic politician, I wouldn't see a smoking ban on the mainland as a fait accompli
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Dunno about you off-shore islanders, but ban firmly in place here in Dublin!


:smokin no more
 
Re: !

3. There seems to be no correlation between smoking and high/low blood pressure
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Oh I don't know. I saw a few smokers before the ban who were fit to burst with rage. Now that it's in everything seems to have calmed down.

I reckon it was the fags that was making them mad.

-Rd
 
Re: !

There seems to be no correlation between smoking and high/low blood pressure
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One swallow does not make a summer. Smoking is recognised as one of the leading causes of high blood pressure (along with excessive weight, lack of exercise, salt) in every other medical study. The absence of coorelation in this particular study does not negate that accepted fact.
 
heart disease and circulatory disorders

Fom the UK nhs:

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Even though we have not discovered a correlation between smoking and high/low blood presssure there is a correlation between smoking and heart disease and circulatory disorders .
Facts

Smoking is a major health hazard. This is mainly because tobacco contains carcinogens, substances such as tar and benzene that increase the risk of cancer developing in the body.

In 1998 a government white paper on smoking stated that 46,500 people in the UK die every year as a result of smoking-related cancer.

The chemicals in tobacco also cause cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease and circulatory disorders. The heart and the circulatory system pump blood and oxygen around the people, which is needed to keep body tissue alive and healthy.

The government white paper on smoking found that over 40,000 deaths a year due to circulatory diseases are caused by smoking.¹The financial cost to the NHS of treating smoking-related diseases, including visits to the doctor, prescriptions and operations, is around £1.7 billion per year
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.

ajapale
 
Re: heart disease and circulatory disorders

Hi Rainyday,

I am only commenting on this (BMJ June 2004) study, so your crititism is somewhat misplaced. You, on the other hand are not commenting on any particular study... go figure.

I think it is important that the anti-smoking lobby does not overplay its hand. Smoking is a killer of that there is no doubt; however it is not the cause of every ailment.

If big tobacco focus on poor research and badly presented stats they can undermine years of excellent research.
 
Re: heart disease and circulatory disorders

I am only commenting on this (BMJ June 2004) study, so your crititism is somewhat misplaced. You, on the other hand are not commenting on any particular study... go figure.
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I'm not clear what you are saying - Are you telling us that you believe that smoking isn't a cause of high blood pressure?
 
95% - reason behind high blood pressure is not known

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THE CAUSES OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

A blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg or above is normally considered to be high. High blood pressures are quite common in the UK, with as many as a quarter of adults affected and the prevalence of high blood pressure (or hypertension) significantly increases with age.

This rise in blood pressure with age was once thought to be 'normal', a natural process that occurred as we age. It has since been proven that this is not the case. It has been seen many times that blood pressures in economically undeveloped communities (for example Amazonian Indians) are lower than in developed countries such as the UK and do not increase with age

What's behind high blood pressure?

Hypertension can be caused by several conditions, including kidney problems, hormonal disorders and even pregnancy! In the vast majority (over 95%) of cases, however, the reason behind high blood pressure is not known People in this situation are said to be suffering from primary hypertension (also called essential hypertension).

The immediate cause of high blood pressure in primary hypertension is a narrowing of the arteries - this increases the resistance that the heart is pumping against and raises blood pressure. It is much harder, however, to say exactly what causes the arteries to become narrower.

Studies over recent decades have identified several factors which are associated with high blood pressures and may go some way toward explaining primary hypertension. These factors are both genetic and to do with our lifestyles.

Many studies have found blood pressures to be higher and hypertension to be more common in people of Afro-Caribbean descent. Average differences in blood pressure between African-Americans and whites are as large as 20mmHg by 60 years of age. Afro-Caribbeans in the UK and the USA are also more likely to suffer from stroke, for which hypertension is an important risk factor. It is therefore particularly important that Afro-Caribbeans have their blood pressure checked regularly by their GP and take steps to keep their blood pressure low.

Type II diabetes (also called maturity onset diabetes) is also strongly associated with having a higher blood pressure, and diabetics should have their blood pressures closely monitored.

But there are also many lifestyle factors which can influence blood pressure regardless of your genes, so whoever you are, you can influence your own blood pressure. The most important lifestyle factors to be aware of are:

Your diet

Several parts of the diet are linked to blood pressure, the most important being salt. It is fairly safe to say that everyone in the UK eats too much salt and this has an important impact on the nation's blood pressure!
Too much alcohol can also increase blood pressure.
On the plus side, however, it has been suggested that potassium may help lower blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are a very good source of potassium and studies have found that vegetarians have lower than average blood pressures.

Smoking

If you do, stop! Although smoking is not independently associated with high blood pressure, people with hypertension who also smoke have 2 to 3 times as much heart disease as hypertensives who don't smoke.

Your weight

The higher your weight, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure; an increase in weight of 10kg is associated with an increase of 2-3mmHg in systolic blood pressure. It is therefore very important to try and maintain an appropriate weight for your height. Regular physical activity can help you achieve this, and will also help lower your blood pressure, whatever your weight.

Stress

The relationship between stress and heart disease is very difficult to study as it is hard to define exactly what stress is and more evidence is needed before the relationship between stress, blood pressure and heart disease is fully understood. It has been seen in the UK, however, that lower grade employees have higher blood pressures than the higher grade executives in the same workplace. It is thought that having little control over your job may cause 'stress' and increase blood pressure.

Knowing about some of the things which are behind high blood pressure means you can take effective steps to keep your blood pressure from rising and help you to lower it if you have high blood pressure
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I agree it is possible to overplay the anti smoking hand and do damage to the argument in the process. Years ago I had a doctor who blamed smoking for ingrown toenails!

ajapale
 
Re: heart disease and circulatory disorders

Rainy

My belief does not come into this discussion.

I took some (interesting ??) stats from a paper. I had been of the opinion that smoking effects blood pressure, however this study suggests not. Ajapale quoted from another that agrees with this.

So until I see some evidence to the contrary I am tending to accept that there is not connection.

Nat
 
Re: heart disease and circulatory disorders

I stand corrected. Smoking is not a cause of hypertension, but it is a 'risk factor' and the combination of smoking/hypertension does increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
 
blood pressure

Hi Natchesman!
Try one yourself and you will see-feel-the kick.Smoking (nicotine application) certainly influences the blood pressure!It lowers the blood pressure by widening the blood vessels.No doubt about it.
 
!

In these statistical studies, there is not such thing as facts! There are no conclusive proofs of anything.

They are based on levels of significance

It's extremely difficult to prove that smoking causes lung cancer for example. This is how tobacco companies can stay in business for so long.
 
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