The ENSP Capacity Building Event and Network Meeting took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 19-21 October with the attendance of more than 90 ENSP members, partners and stakeholders.

Through five successful sessions on TPD Implementation and plain packaging, Youth Advocacy, Tobacco Dependence Treatment, Tobacco Industry Interference and Future measures in Tobacco control, the event provided participants with updated information, practical tools and above all, support in their respective projects.

ENSP would like to thank all presenters and participants for contributing to making these three days a successful and inspiring event!

To discover all the presenters and their abstract, download our conference brochure and see more photos from the event.
Read the speech by the Slovenian Minister of Health, Milojka Kolar Celarc, made on Friday 21st October, at our event at the National Council in Ljubliana.

Public Consultation on the implementation of an EU system on traceability of tobacco products

DEADLINE: FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2016, BEFORE MIDNIGHT

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the implementation of an EU system for traceability and security features pursuant to Articles 15 and 16 of the Tobacco Products Directive. The deadline to complete the only survey is Friday 4th November 2016, midnight. ENSP woudl encourage every organisation to respond to this very important consultation.

The aim of the consultation is to seek input from the general public and interested parties on the various policy options currently envisaged for implementing an EU system for traceability and security features. The consultation will, among others, allow the Commission to gain insight into which policy options are capable of fulfilling the TPD requirements whilst at the same time imposing least burden on stakeholders concerned.

Please do not hesitate to contact ENSP for further information on answering the consultation.

Please complete the following survey ASAP:
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/publicconsultationTPDarticles15and16

WHO Tobacco Control Playbook: Countering tobacco marketing to children

In September 2016 the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the Tobacco Control Playbook with the aim to provide a single source of information explaining how tobacco industry players act and how governments and the public health community can respond to their arguments.

To disseminate this important work carried out by WHO Europe, the Network will each month feature key arguments from the Playbook of relevance to ENSP members and stakeholders in the tobacco control community. Read more about Tobacco marketing targeted at children and young people:

ARGUMENT:
"Tobacco marketing is targeted at children and young people"

There is overwhelming evidence from tobacco industry documents, academic studies, and the industry’s marketing activities that tobacco companies have been targeting children and young people in their marketing for decades. This was mainly to recruit replacement smokers, to replace those who had quit or died from tobacco-caused diseases ^[1]. In protecting children from tobacco, it is essential to restrict all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and to take steps to normalize tobacco-free lifestyles. Key arguments to counter the tobacco industry's influence include:

In line with Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), there should be comprehensive bans on all direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorships, and promotions ^[28].

According to Article 36 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have a right to be protected from any activity that takes advantage of them or that harms their welfare and development ^[29]. This includes their targeting by tobacco marketing, which is a clear impediment to their healthy development and exploitative of their young age.

In the Roadmap of actions to strengthen implementation of the WHO FCTC in the European Region 2015–2025 ^[30], a key focus area is reshaping social norms. In the Health 2020 policy framework ^[31], focus is on creating a culture of health, in which children want to grow up healthily. Key to these is the social normalization of a tobacco-free lifestyle, and preventing tobacco industry efforts to market (and thereby normalize) smoking.

Read more on the Tobacco Control Playbook.

Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets - Tobacco marketing to children exposed

On 26 October 2016, Advocacy Center LIFE conducted a press conference to expose the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics targeting children. The conference included speeches by Children’s Ombudsman, Mykola Kuleba, Member of Parliament, Ihor Lutsenko, Director of the HealthRights International in Ukraine, Halyna Skipalska and Head of the Tobacco Control Unit of the Ukrainian Institute of Strategic Research, Dr. Konstantin Krasovsky, among others.

Research from the global campaign «Big Tobacco. Tiny Targets» led in 2016 showed that 81% of Ukrainian supermarkets, convenience stores and kiosks surveyed sold tobacco products and 96% of them used aggressive marketing display.

“The state should create certain conditions to protect public health," said Igor Lutsenko, MP and co-author of the draft laws #4030a and #2820. "The two draft laws #4030a and #2820 are aiming to protect children and youth from tobacco marketing and significantly reduce the attractiveness and accessibility of cigarettes.”

Andriy Skipalskyi, Chairman of the Advocacy Center LIFE, said: "Our next step is to limit the tobacco accessibility particularly for children. Hence, the adoption of the display ban and implementation of Articles 9, 10, 11 and its Guidelines of the WHO FCTC into Ukrainian legislation are crucial for countering the tobacco industry marketing of deadly products to children.”

Read the full press release.

Fifth International Status Report on Cigarette Package and Health Warnings

On Thursday 10 November 2016, the Canadian Cancer Society will release its 5th edition of the report, Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report, to be launched at the FCTC COP7.

The report ranks 205 countries and territories based on their warning size. It shows that 4 countries have required plain packaging and 14 are working on it. In total 105 countries and territories have required pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages.

Read more about the report on www.ensp.org after 10 November 2016.

Launch of the report The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Romania in the framework of the EU Directive 2011/64 revision process

Bucharest, 22 November 2016

ENSP and organising partners are pleased to invite you to an event-debate on the occasion of the launch of the report The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in Romania in the Framework of EU Directive 2011/64 revision process.

The report was realized in an academic research partnership between Wake Forest School of Medicine and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tîrgu-Mureș, under the scope of the project “Building Capacity for Tobacco Research in Romania”. The Event will bring together representatives of public, academic and medical institutions and non-governmental organizations, both national and international with focus and activities in tobacco control.

The Event takes place on Tuesday 22 November 2016 from 10:00-13:00 in the Meeting Room of the Budget, Finance and Banks Commission, Chamber of Deputies, Romanian Parliament. It includes a press-conference session from 11:45-12:15.

Access to the event is secured solely based on confirmation of participation – until November 10th the latest, at the email adress: office@2035faratutun.ro.

Read more about the event.

Reviewing the international omplementation of the WHO FCTC
Invitation to the ICO-WHO Symposium 2016
Barcelona, 12 December 2016

ENSP is proud to be partner to the ICO-WHO Symposium held on 12 December 2016 at the Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona.

The aim of the Symposium is to review the international implementation of the WHO FCTC by identifying achievements, loopholes, barriers and the new challenges ahead. The spread of the tobacco epidemic is influenced by factors such as trade liberalization and direct foreign investment, global marketing, transnational tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship and the international movement of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes. Ten years after its ratification by most countries around the world, the health gains triggered by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) are evident, but not sufficient. Read the full symposium programme.

Register and read more about the Symposium.

Horizon Magazine: Livestream of brain could help smokers quit

On 24 October the EU Research and Innovation magazine, Horizon Magazine, featured an article on the research carried out on smoking prevention policies within the EU project SILNE-R.

Prof. Anton kunst, project coordinator of SILNE-R, said to Horizon Magazine: ‘Different countries and municipalities have different tobacco policies. We want to understand why some policies are able to influence young people and why others are not.’

‘Among people in lower socio-economic circles, smoking is much more common and that could be related to factors like more emotional problems and being exposed to smoking amongst friends and parents.’ says Prof. Kunst.

SILNE-R aims at generating the fine-grained and needed evidence to support decision makers in the implementation of smoking prevention strategies that are responsive to local conditions, effective in using available resources and inspired to reduce inequities.

Read the full article.

Study: Country Differences and Changes in Focus of Scientific Tobacco Control Publications between 2000 and 2012 in Europe

Progress in tobacco control can be accelerated by scientific research into the tobacco epidemic and the best ways of tackling the epidemic. The scientific productivity in this field in Europe has not yet been described in detail. Marc Willemsen (Maastricht University) and Gera Nagelhout (Alliantie Nederland Rookvrij) have examined changes in scientific literature focus before and after the ratification of the FCTC in 31 European countries.

It was found that the number of tobacco related publications throughout Europe increased from 780 in 2000 to 1,499 in 2012. Although the total volume almost doubled in 10 years, much in line with general increases in scientific output, there is a very uneven distribution of tobacco research across Europe. Scandinavian countries had most publications per inhabitant, while Eastern- European countries had relatively little research output. The greatest relative increase was in publications on treatment, education, and environmental interventions. The paper calls for an increase in EU tobacco control research funding and development of stronger research networks that include those countries that currently are missing the boat.

Read the paper abstract.

Please contact marc.willemsen@maastrichtuniversity.nl for a personal copy of the paper.

You too can support the Written Declaration on Chronic Respiratory Diseases!

ENSP and organising partners are honoured to announce the launch of the Written Declaration on Chronic Respiratory Diseases.

The Declaration calls upon the Commission to boost research on the causes of chronic respiratory diseases and encourages the Commission and the Council to share best practices and study the possibility of a comprehensive strategy for meeting the challenges posed by chronic respiratory diseases.

Chronic respiratory diseases account for more than 315,000 Europeans dying every year. They are among the most prevalent chronic diseases in Europe and pose a huge burden on EU national health systems and patients with diseases such as respiratory allergy, asthma and COPD costing more than €300 billion annually.

When the Written Declaration on Chronic Respiratory Diseases is signed by the majority of Members of European Parliament, it will provide an important instrument to raising awareness and giving political recognition to the importance of tackling chronic respiratory diseases in Europe.

Help us to get the Written Declaration signed by sharing it with your national MEPs and among your networks. Read more on the campaign here and contact andrea.glahn@ensp.org for further information on how you can help.

See which MEPs have already signed and follow us on #BreatheMission

The European Commission declares Hungarian tax on tobacco business illegal

In a decision of 4 July 2016, the European Commission declares the Hungarian tax measures imposed on tobacco industry businesses as illegal.

The Hungarian tax, implemented through the national Act XCIV of 2014, was levied on authorised warehouse keepers, importers, and registered traders of tobacco products. The measure had the stated purpose of collecting funds for financing the health system to increase the quality of health services. The Commission argues that this 'health contribution tax' was illegal because it imposed different tax rates according to annual turnover of the taxpayer. However it does not exclude the possibility of a so-called 'linear' tax, which imposes the same tax rate independent of turnover.

Similar discussions on taxing of distributors of tobacco product are taking place in France, where opponents use the present ruling to argue against the implementation of the tax. The French proposal however includes linear taxes, that do not fluctuate according to taxpayer's revenue. See the Parliamentarian amendment to the French proposal [in French].

Read more on Decision 2016/1846 of 4 July 2016.

FCTC Conference of the Parties (COP7)

The FCTC Conference of the Parties (COP7) will be held from 7-12 November 2016 in New Delhi, India, bringing together the WHO FCTC’s 180 Parties to discuss advances in the work on the WHO FCTC. Topics of discussion include:

Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM)
Sustainable Measures to strengthen implementation
Protect health policies from interference by the tobacco industry
Regulations about Certification Examinations of participants and transparency of delegations
How to strengthen the legislative and regulatory framework for liability of tobacco industry

Watch the welcome message from Head of the Convention Secretariat WHO FCTC, Dr Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, for the Pre-COP7 Regional Consultation Meeting:

Read more and access all COP7 Meeting Resources.

INTERPOL discontinues funding agreement with Philip Morris International

The international police organisation INTERPOL benefits from large number of bodies and companies, which contribute to the organisation's Trust Fund and Special Accounts. Since 2012, Philip Morris International has been one of these beneficiaries, and donated 15 million euros to the agency in 2012 with the aim to combat illicit trade of goods. This funding agreement expired in June 2015 and has not been renewed.

Interpol notes that the non-renewal of the agreement has been decided upon due to strategic priorities in which the organisation no longer accepts donations from the alcohol, gambling, sex, tobacco and weapons industries. Read more.

XII National Congress of the Italian Society of Tabaccology

Milan, 3 and 4 November 2016

The Italian Society of Tabaccology (Società Italiana di Tabaccologia) is pleased to invite you to the 12th National Congress taking place in Milan on 3 and 4 November. Topics include: New Clinical and Epidemiological Scenarios, From Therapy to Selective Prevention, Smoking related Diseases, and Y outh and Tobacco: Projects of Prevention, Evidence of Effectiveness.

Read the Congress Programme and access www.tabaccologia.it for further information.

Join us in 2017 for the joint ENSP-ERS Conference:
Bridging Science and Policy for better Tobacco Control Strategies

Athens, 24, 25 and 26 May 2017

Join ENSP and ERS for the International Conference on Bridging the Gap between Science and policy for better tobacco control strategies in Athens on 24, 25 and 26 May 2017. The conference will gather ENSP members and advocates of tobacco control for three days of in-depth sessions focusing on the WHO FCTC Article 20 on Research, Surveillance and Exchange of Information, and how this translates into strong policy decisions.

We will also celebrate the World No Tobacco Day 2017 and ENSP's 20th Anniversary.

Programme and call for abstracts will follow.

New Published Articles

A Pilot Study of Retail ‘Vape Shops’ in the San Francisco Bay Area
Andrea D Burbank, Johannes Thrul, Pamela M Ling

Examining the Smoking and Vaping Behaviors and Preferences of Vape Shop Customers
Theodore Lee Wagener, Raees A Shaikh, Ellen Meier, Alayna P Tackett, Noor N Tahirkheli, Eleanor L. Leavens, Leslie Driskill

Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults
Shyanika W. Rose, Amy M. Cohn, Jennifer L Pearson, Amanda L Johnson, Jessica M Rath, Andrea C. Villanti