E-Cigarettes Could Save 'Hundreds of Millions' Lives: Scientists

A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organization not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardize a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking.

The UN agency, which is currently assessing its position on the matter, has previously indicated it would favor applying similar restrictions to all nicotine-containing products.

In an open letter to WHO Director General Margaret Chan, the scientists from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia argued that low-risk products like e-cigarettes were "part of the solution" in the fight against smoking, not part of the problem.

"These products could be among the most significant health innovations of the 21st century – perhaps saving hundreds of millions of lives. The urge to control and suppress them as tobacco products should be resisted," the experts wrote.

Leaked documents from a meeting last November suggest the WHO views e-cigarettes as a "threat" and wants them classified the same way as regular tobacco products under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

That has set alarm bells ringing among a number of medical experts - and in the booming e-cigarette industry. A total of 178 countries are parties to the international convention and are obliged to implement its measures, with the United States the one notable non-signatory.

A move to classify e-cigarettes alongside regular cigarettes would push countries into taking similar tough measures to restrict demand, including raising taxes, banning advertising, introducing health warnings and curbing use in public places.

Uptake of electronic cigarettes, which use battery-powered cartridges to produce a nicotine-laced inhalable vapor, has rocketed in the last two years and analysts estimate the industry had worldwide sales of some $3 billion in 2013.

But the devices are controversial. Because they are so new there is a lack of long-term scientific evidence to support their safety and some fear they could be "gateway" products to nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking - though the scientists said they were "unaware of any credible evidence that supports this conjecture".

In response to the scientists' letter, Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "The overall impact of e-cigarette use on public health is currently unclear. While they could prove to be an important tool to help people stop smoking, the unregulated status of e-cigarettes is problematic."

BIG TOBACCO BACKS SCIENTISTS

For tobacco companies seeking to offset the decline in traditional smoking, investment in e-cigarettes was an obvious choice and all the major players now have a presence, prompting Big Tobacco to line up behind scientists on this occasion.

Kingsley Wheaton, director of corporate and regulatory affairs at British American Tobacco, said classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products would mean smokers find it harder to access a less risky alternative.

In a declaration of interests, none of the scientists said they had received funding from tobacco companies. However, some have carried out research on e-cigarettes or acted as consultants for drug companies making other smoking cessation products, including GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

The Geneva-based WHO said its position on e-cigarettes was still in flux ahead of a key meeting on the FCTC scheduled for October 13-18 in Moscow, where proposed regulations will be discussed.

"At this point the only thing I can say is that we are elaborating these regulations and they will soon be available to you," Armando Peruga, program manager for the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative told reporters this week.

Gerry Stimson, emeritus professor at Imperial College London and one of the organizers of the letter to Chan, told Reuters that the WHO's position was "bizarre" and its stance on e-cigarettes was harsher than that of regulators in Europe and the United States.

"We want to make sufficient noise now before things get too set in stone," he said.

Source: © 2014 Thomson/Reuters.

Did you know?

That all Metro Hotels and Apartments have a smoke-free rooms and lobby policy? By booking your hotel or serviced apartment stay with us, smoking is not permitted in your room or in other guest rooms nearby - so you can breathe easy! In Australia, smoking is also not permitted in restaurants, hospitals and on public transport.

Want to stay at one of our smoke-free hotels or serviced apartments? Click here to go to our website: Metro Hotels

Metro Hotels have hotels and apartments located at most major cities throughout Australia:

New South Wales

• Aspire Hotel Sydney
• Metro Hotel Sydney Central
• Metro Hotel on Pitt
• Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour
• Metro Apartments on King
• Metro Hotel Miranda
• Metro Inn Ryde

Queensland

• Apartments G60 Gladstone
• Metro Hotel & Apartments Gladstone
• Metro Hotel Ipswich International
• Metro Hotel Tower Mill

Victoria

• Metro Apartments on Bank Place

Western Australia

• Metro Hotel Perth

Northern Territory

• Dugong Beach Resort

24 HOUR SALE - $99 to stay at Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour this THURSDAY

24 HOUR SALE @ Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour! ONLY $99 to stay this Thursday night! 

Booking page: http://www.sydney-metro-apartments-darling-harbour.bookings.metrohotels.com.au/index.site.packages.package.3352.html

Melbourne CBD May Become First Smoke-free City In The World

Melbourne's city centre could become completely smoke-free within three years after a cigarette ban in a laneway was dubbed a success.

Melbourne city councillor Richard Foster said there was overwhelming support to extend smoke-free areas following the test in city laneway The Causeway.

The ban has been made permanent and Melbourne City Council has approved up to six more bans.

Mr Foster said the final step would be an entirely smoke-free CBD, which could take effect before October 2016, News Corp Australia reports.

"I think we're going to actually attract people to Melbourne by being one of the first in the world to go smoke-free," Mr Foster told Fairfax Radio.

"I think there's overwhelming support to progress smoke-free areas given the great success we had with The Causeway."

Under the plan, smoking would be banned for pedestrians, footpath diners and city workers in the area bounded by Flinders Street, Spencer Street, Spring Street and the Queen Victoria Market, News Corp Australia reported.

There could be designated shelters for smokers.

The local law would have to be supported by six of Melbourne's 11 city councillors.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said any policy change should be incremental.

"If we can show traders and businesses, just as happened in pubs and restaurants, that this doesn't detract from your business ... then bit by bit we will win that battle," Mr Doyle said.

Most Melburnians who hit online forum Twitter to comment on the plan have supported it.

Journalism student Eleanor Tabone said a no-smoking CBD was exactly what Melbourne needed.

Monash councillor Micaela Drieberg said the idea should be implemented.

"Make Melbourne a #smokefree city? Yes please!" she wrote.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has said a CBD-wide smoking ban in Melbourne may be impossible to implement.

"I think it's totally unworkable. I think it's totally unreasonable," Dr Napthine told Fairfax Radio on Thursday.

Dr Napthine also conceded the Melbourne City Council could implement smoking bans in certain streets.

"My understanding is they (local government) can have local by-laws," he said.

Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/2014/05/15/08/07/melbourne-cbd-may-become-smoke-free

The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC)

The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) is the world’s largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. 

More than 7,000 delegates come from more than 100 countries to discuss the latest developments in thoracic malignancy research. Attendees include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, radiologists, pathologists, epidemiologists, basic research scientists, nurses and allied health professionals and patients.

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is located in Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is Sydney's most exciting entertainment precinct, where business meets pleasure on the waters edge. Only moments from the heart of Sydney's city centre, Darling Harbour is accessible by ferry, water taxi, light rail, bus, car or foot.

More information:
http://wclc.iaslc.org/index.html

Electronic Cigarettes May Help You Quit Smoking, New Study Shows

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are at least as good as nicotine patches in helping smokers break their nicotine habit, say researchers in New Zealand. Users of the device inhale nicotine-laced vapor through battery-powered tubes as they would the smoke from a combustible cigarette. Their use is controversial. Opponents feel that e-cigarettes are unsafe and encourage smoking, while proponents say that their use can cut down or eliminate smoking, reducing cigarette-associated health problems.

Published recently in the medical journal The Lancet, the new study concluded that “e-cigarettes, with or without nicotine, were modestly effective at helping smokers to quit, with similar achievement of abstinence as with nicotine patches…” The researchers also stressed that more research is needed.

The study looked at three groups of smokers who wanted to quit smoking: 292 received commercially available e-cigarettes, 292 were given nicotine patches, and 73 received placebos, e-cigarettes with no nicotine. All participants were offered telephone support via the Quitline, but fewer than half took advantage.

The study participants were followed from one week before starting their program, 12 weeks during the program, and for another three months after. After six months, they were tested to see if they had kept away from nicotine.

Results from breath tests at six months showed that 21 people in the nicotine e-cigarette group quit smoking (7.3%), 17 of those in the patch group quit (5.8%), and 3 of those in the non-nicotine e-cigarette group were no longer smoking (4.1%). As expected, not all subjects were able to stop smoking completely, but those who used the e-cigarettes did decrease their cigarette use, compared with those in the other two groups.

“I’m not surprised if the study showed that electronic cigarettes are more effective, particularly in the population that are severely addicted to cigarettes,” says Dr. William Randall, Jr. of Lutherville Personal Physicians, Mercy Health Services, in Maryland. Randall says he’s seen many patients successfully quit smoking with the use of e-cigarettes after other nicotine products (gum, patches, lozenges) had failed.
“Some use just the steam, some use the ones that supply the nicotine,” he explains.

The study also examined the ‘adverse events’ or side effects caused by e-cigarettes. Researchers found no differences in serious events between those who used the nicotine e-cigarettes and those who used the patches.

There is heated debate among physicians about the utility and safety of e-cigarettes, but if similar studies continue to show effectiveness, e-cigarettes could become a more accepted smoking cessation tool. “I think that among the patients that I’ve seen use it, the ones who have the most difficulty in stopping, have been using them with some success,” says Randall. “I’ve actually suggested that they try the electronic cigarettes and see if hey can’t use them at least as an initial step to get them off all together.”

In terms of medical studies, this was a small one – only 657 people in total and several subjects in the patch arm of the study dropped out. The authors believe that this could be partly explained by participant disappointment in being assigned to the patch group when they wanted to in the e-cigarette group. The study, however, is significant in that it will generate further scientific discussion on the role of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation. Efficacy of e-cigarettes in reducing smoking and in harm reduction, their safety over the long term, and the effect of their sale on that of combustible cigarettes are all issues that need to be further investigated.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/marijkevroomendurning/2013/09/10/electronic-cigarettes-may-help-you-quit-smoking-new-zealand-study-shows/

Smoke Free Metro Hotels

Cities around the world, from North America to Europe and Asia, are banning smoking in public areas in a positive move to reduce the hazards of second-hand smoke.

When burnt, cigarette smoke releases over 4,000 chemicals, including over 40 known carcinogenic (cancer causing) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.

Here is just a small list of the dangerous ingredients in each cigarette:

• Ammonia: Household cleaner.
• Arsenic: Used in rat poisons.
• Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber.
• Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid.
• Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas.
• Cadmium: Used in batteries.
• Cyanide: Lethal poison.
• DDT: A banned insecticide.
• Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals.
• Lead: Poisonous in high doses.
• Formaldehyde: Used to preserve dead specimens, known carcinogen.
• Methoprene: Insecticide.
• Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs.
• Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India, in 1984.
• Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element.

Due to the health risks, Metro Hotels throughout Australia has a strict non-smoking policy in every hotel, for every hotel room. The majority of guest favour a non-smoking hotel environment.

Cigarette smoke seeps easily into rooms and lobbies when hotels are sold out, and non-smokers often find themselves in a smokey room. Given that some guests may have severe allergies to smoke and the increase in asthma attacks related to second-hand smoke, Metro Hotels felt it was in the best interest for the health of guests and staff that a non-smoking policy be implemented. This also keeps each hotel room smelling fresher, cleaner and also prevents toxic smoke particles from accumulating in the soft furnishings of the rooms.

This is a list of Metro Hotels all around Australia that have a non-smoking policy:

Sydney, New South Wales

• Metro Hotel Sydney Central
• Metro Hotel on Pitt
• Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour
• Metro Apartments on King
• Aspire Hotel Sydney (Ultimo)
• Metro Hotel Miranda
• Metro Inn Ryde

Brisbane, Queensland

• Metro Hotel Tower Mill
• Metro Hotel Ipswich International
• Metro Hotel & Apartments Gladstone
• Apartments G60 Gladstone

Melbourne, Victoria

• Metro Apartments on Bank Place

Perth, Western Australia

• Metro Hotel Perth

Northern Territory

• Dugong Beach Resort

The Metro smoke-free hotel policy has received praise and positive support from guests and the broader community. The continuing efforts of these properties to comply with the smoke-free policy reinforces Metro Hotels commitment to being an environmentally friendly company. There is a significant room recovery fee for guests who do not comply in order to cover the extensive cost of restoring guest rooms to a smoke-free condition.

Although smoking is not permitted within hotel buildings themselves, guests who smoke are permitted to do so outside in designated areas.

Outdoor Smoking Bans to operate from 7 January 2013

From 7 January 2013, smoking will be banned in the following outdoor settings:

• Within 10 metres of children’s play equipment in outdoor public spaces (including children’s playground equipment located at licensed premises);
• At public swimming pools;
• In the spectator areas of sports grounds and major sporting facilities and other recreational areas when sport is being played;
• At public transport stops regardless of whether the area is covered
• Within four metres of a pedestrian access point to public buildings (licensed premises excluded until 6 July 2015)

Other than the ban which applies within 10 metres of children’s playground equipment, none of these bans will impact on licensed premises until 6 July 2015 when smoking will also be banned within 4 metres of an outdoor seated dining area and for 4 metres from a pedestrian access point to or exit from licensed premises.