Those of us who place life higher than corporate profit can find some solace. First, a different appeals court in Cincinnati came to the opposite conclusion in March, which means that the Supreme Court is very likely to hear the case (assuming the FDA appeals). We can’t be sure how the highest court will rule, of course, but a number of legal scholars have opined that the case against the warnings is flawed.

Second, there was an excellent opinion from the dissenting judge:

“The government has an interest of paramount importance in effectively conveying information about the health risks of smoking to adolescent would-be smokers and other consumers.”

Given that the tobacco industry has already been found guilty of criminal racketeering in their efforts to hide the health impacts of their products, this opinion makes a lot more sense than protecting criminals’ rights to free speech.

A recent review of research on the environmental health impact of tobacco farming found that it degrades the environment, harms workers, and leads to the loss of land resources and biodiversity.

The article in the journal Tobacco Control highlights tobacco farming problems, such as excessive use of chemicals and extensive deforestation, and found that multinational tobacco companies’ actions contribute to these problems.

In SA, nearly 13 234 hectares of arable land is taken up by tobacco plantations, and the country produces nearly 16 000 metric tons of tobacco a year.

Most of the world’s tobacco farming takes place in the developing world, with Malawi being the largest producer in Africa, assigning 183 052ha of land to tobacco.

The second biggest producer in Africa is Zimbabwe which grows tobacco on 79 917ha.

The biggest producer in the world is China which uses 1 266 113ha for growing tobacco.

For the study, Natacha Lecours from the Non-Communicable Disease Prevention programme in Canada, and colleagues reviewed 45 scientific articles on the topic.

They found that tobacco farming causes green tobacco sickness (GTS) in farmworkers who absorb nicotine through the skin when handling wet tobacco. GTS causes muscle weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, abdominal cramps, breathing difficulty, diarrhoea, chills, fluctuations in blood pressure or heart rate, and increased perspiration and salivation.

“As a monocrop, tobacco plants are vulnerable to a variety of pests and diseases, which require the application of large quantities of chemicals,” the authors wrote.

Pesticide poisoning is common among workers and those living near tobacco-growing fields.

Exposure to these chemicals causes respiratory, neurological, and psychological problems.

Studies found pesticide sprayers in this industry are at increased risk of neurological and psychological conditions because of poor protection practices.

Apart from deforestation and soil degradation, tobacco farming is associated with the destruction of ground water resources, sedimentation of rivers, reservoirs and irrigation systems, climate change, and species extinction due to habitat fragmentation and over exploitation, said the authors.

Read the rest of the article at Pretoria News >

By Wilma Stassen/ Health-e News Service

Harold Elliot Varmus, the winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medi-cine, said a person’s genetic predisposition for cancer was small compared to the enormous cancer risk from smoking or tobacco consumption.

“Genetic research is a means to develop [cancer] therapy. In some cancers, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, renal cancer and several others, the genetic risks are less strong, compared to lifestyle behavior,” Varmus told The Jakarta Post here on Monday

Many kinds of cancer, especially lung cancer, were absolutely linked to smoking, he added. “The effort to diminish tobacco use, if it can be done, is very important to control cancer in Indonesia.”

Varmus, the director of US National Cancer Institute (NCI), made his comments after a lecture on the genetic basis of cancer at the University of Indonesia’s (UI) medical school.

During the lecture, which was sponsored by the US embassy, USAID Indonesia launched its Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)-Health Indonesia progam, a US$770,000 initiative to enhance public health research in Indonesia.

Ratna Sitompul, the dean of UI’s medical school, said that non-infectious diseases, including cancer, had become more common in Indonesia, while at the same time the nation was struggling against infectious illnesses.

“We need to conduct a lot of research to uncover why a particular cancer is affecting patients. Some of the viruses we are now dealing with can cause cancer. By learning about the differences between the biodiversity of the two countries, we may get some answers on how best to fight cancer,” Ratna said.

According to the central government’s 2010 Basic Health Research Report (Riskesdas), 63 percent of adult men in Indonesia smoked. A large number of children, some under 5, also smoked, the report said.

Although the smoking rate for Indonesian women was low compared to other parts of the world, it has been growing rapidly.

The report also said that 4.3 of every 1,000 Indonesian people were afflicted by cancer.

“There’s a very high incidence of tobacco smoking in the country,” Varmus said.

According to Varmus, even in the US, which had dramatically reduced its number of smokers, 20 percent of the population continued to smoke, ignoring evidence that smoking led to cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular illnesses.

“I know there is an opposition to tobacco control, but I believe we need to take bold preventive steps on tobacco use,” Varmus said.

Tobacco consumption is one of three major factors to assess a person’s risk for cancer, along with the presence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is the leading cause of cervical cancer, one of most prevalent forms of cancer afflicting Indonesian women.

Varmus said there were now many ways to try to combat cervical cancer, such as, among other things, early detection of the disease using pap smears in addition to vaccination.

A HPV inoculation program initiated by the local chapter of the Indonesian Obstetricians and Gynecologists (POGI) in Denpasar, Bali, a year ago, met with a cool reception, which was attributed to the Rp 3.6 million price tag for the 3-shot vaccination program.

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By Elly Burhaini Faizal, The Jakarta Post

See this article at its original location >