Human rights-based approach to tobacco control

The Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) is currently the most potent tool for implementation of tobacco control laws across the globe. The FCTC is derivative from previously constructed international human rights conventions. These previous conventions have enforcement mechanisms, unlike the FCTC. However, the FCTC relies on state parties to report periodically on its implementation rather than on a continuous monitoring system. The Human Rights and Tobacco Control Network proposes that abiding by the principles of human rights delineated by international treaties, citizens across the globe can demand effective action for tobacco control. This paper explains the link between fundamental human rights and the right to tobacco control. Mechanisms are described to link the FCTC and its principles with human rights-based monitoring reports, which are provided to oversight committees for the other human rights conventions. The initial work of the Human Rights and Tobacco Control Network is summarised and considers the future directions for the human rights-based approach to tobacco control.     

Responses to tobacco control policies among youth

OBJECTIVE: Explore adolescents' response to current and potential tobacco control policy issues. DESIGN: The 13 site Tobacco Control Network (TCN), sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted 129 sex and ethnic homogeneous focus groups. PARTICIPANTS: 785 white, African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Hispanic adolescents who were primarily smokers from rural, urban, and suburban locations across the USA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Awareness, knowledge, opinions, and behaviour regarding laws and rules, prices, cigarette ingredients, and warning labels. RESULTS: Teenagers were generally familiar with laws and rules about access and possession for minors, but believed them ineffective. They were knowledgeable about prices, and reported that a sharp and sudden increase could lead them to adjust their smoking patterns but could also have negative consequences. They found a list of chemical names of cigarette ingredients largely meaningless, but believed that disclosing and publicising their common uses could be an effective deterrent, especially for those who were not yet smoking. They were aware of current warning labels, but considered them uninformative and irrelevant. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding teenagers' attitudes and behaviours before implementing policies that will affect them will likely increase their effectiveness. Disclosing and publicising the chemical contents of cigarettes, and increasing prices quickly and sharply, are potentially effective areas for policy change to impact adolescent tobacco use.     

陕西省烟草病毒病的发生、流行成因及防治技术

根据近年来有关研究进展，从烟草病毒病的危害，烟草病毒病的主要种类及特性，烟草病毒病的发生规律，烟蚜的越冬迁飞和传毒特性，烟草病毒病流行成灾的原因分析，烟草蚜传病毒病的预测预报等方面，笔者对烟草病毒病的发生，流行成因及防治技术进行了综述。     

Minors' tobacco possession law violations and intentions to smoke: implications for tobacco control

Objectives: To test: (1) whether citation under the Minors in Possession (MIP) law, vicarious citation (knowing someone who was cited), and threat of driving licence suspension are associated with decreased intentions to smoke next year; and (2) whether the policy is differentially enforced.     

Tobacco industry strategy to undermine tobacco control in Finland

Objective: To identify and explain tobacco industry strategy in undermining tobacco control measures in Finland and results of these interferences in tobacco policy development during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Methods: Tobacco industry documents, which have been publicly available on the internet as a result of litigation in the USA, were analysed. Documents were sought by Finland and by names of organisations and tobacco control activists. Documents were accessed and assessed between September 2000 and November 2002. Tactics of the tobacco industry activities were categorised as presented by Saloojee and Dagli.

Results: The international tobacco companies utilised similar strategies in Finland as in other industrial markets to fight tobacco control and legislation, the health advocacy movement, and litigation. These activities slowed down the development and implementation of the Tobacco Act in Finland. However, despite the extensive pressure, the industry was not able to prevent the most progressive tobacco legislation in Europe from being passed and coming into force in Finland in 1977 and in 1995.

Conclusion: Denying the health hazards caused by tobacco—despite indisputable scientific evidence—decreased the credibility of the tobacco industry. Strategy of denial was falsely chosen, as health advocacy groups were active both in society and the parliamentary system. The strong influence of the tobacco industry may have in fact increased the visibility of tobacco control in Finland as the litigation process was also drawing attention to negative health effects of tobacco. Therefore the tobacco industry did not manage to convince public opinion. However, the tobacco industry did obtain experience in Finland in how to object to tobacco control measures.

     

烟草丛顶病在中国的发现及研究进展

烟草丛顶病是发生在云南西部烟草种植区的一种严重病害.1993年首次在保山地区暴发流行.截止1998年发病面积达5万多公顷,直接经济损失2.1亿元.课题组采用生物学和分子生物学研究方法,明确证实在滇西三江流域烟草种植区普遍爆发流行的此类烟草病害与津巴布韦发生的烟草丛顶病为同一病害.病害由烟草丛顶病毒(TBTV)和烟草脉扭病毒(TVDV)复合侵染引起,是烟草丛顶病在中国的首次报道;获得了TBTV的全长核苷酸序列,是国际上完成的第一个烟草丛顶病毒全序列;开展了TVDV的分子生物学研究并获得了基因组部分序列;报道了TBTV的似卫星RNA,并获得了其部分序列;建立了包括TBTV、TVDV以及TBTV似卫星RNA的烟草丛顶病分子检测体系;通过对病害传播途径、流行规律研究,提出了"预防为主,避蚜防病"的综合防治措施,在全省累计示范推广8万多bm2,平均防治效果在90%以上,挽回烟叶损失1.7亿元,经济效益极为显著,挽救了滇西烟区烟草种植业.