Publications about smoking

Global tobacco control epidemic | 1004.0 kB

14 Nov 2008 | Comprehensive, 32-slide presentation (in pdf form) by Dr Harry Lando (University of Minnesota) on the tobacco epidemic and efforts to control it, including the epidemiology, industry behaviour, the FCTC, etc.

Beyond 'Smoking kills' | 4.8 MB

07 Oct 2008 | This report, subtitled 'Protecting children, reducing inequalities', is published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), in collaboration with the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and endorsed by over 100 health and welfare organisations. It calls on the UK government to introduce a comprehensive tobacco control strategy which could help a further 4.5 million smokers to quit by 2015 by: a) requiring plain packaging for all tobacco products (research in the report shows that young people are between 3 and 4 times less likely to pick a plain pack as a branded one if they were trying smoking for the first time); b) prohibiting the display of tobacco products in shops; c) clamping down on smuggling; and d) giving smokers access to safer non-tobacco alternatives to smoking

OxHA workplace health programme | 41.2 kB

18 Jun 2008 | A short introduction to the OxHA approach to workplace health (see also the 'Initiatives' section of this website).

Chapman presentation OxHA summit 08 | 716.0 kB

26 Feb 2008 | Presentation (pdf) given by Simon Chapman at the OxHA Summit '08 in the session on Healthy Public Policy.

MPOWER report on tobacco control

07 Feb 2008 | This WHO 'Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 - The MPOWER package' presents 'the first comprehensive worldwide analysis of tobacco use and control efforts. It provides countries with a roadmap to reverse the devastating global tobacco epidemic that could kill up to one billion people by the end of this century'. The report outlines a set of six tobacco control measures (the MPOWER package) that reflect and build on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Public health: ethical issues

13 Nov 2007 | This report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics considers the responsibilities of government, industry, individuals and others in promoting the health of everyone. The Council concludes that the state has a particular duty to help people lead a healthy life and to reduce inequalities. It addresses obesity and tobacco use, in particular.

Plain packaging of tobacco

02 Aug 2007 | This report, 'The case for the plain packaging of tobacco products' (Becky Freeman, Simon Chapman and Matthew Rimmer) is published by the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney. It 'reviews available research into the likely impact of mandatory plain packaging and internal tobacco industry statements about the importance of packs as promotional vehicles. It critiques legal objections raised by the industry about plain packaging violating laws and international trade agreements, showing these to be without foundation. Plain packaging of all tobacco products would remove a key remaining means for the industry to promote its products to billions of the world’s smokers and future smokers.'

Tackling tobacco | 147.0 kB

31 May 2007 | This article, 'Tackling tobacco: multi-stakeholder approaches to a global health crisis' is by Christine Hancock and Katy Cooper of OxHA, and appeared in the Commonwealth Health Ministers' Book 2007. It highlights the need for holistic efforts to encourage healthy behaviour around the world, using tobacco control as an example.

Health profile of England | 2.9 MB

10 Oct 2006 | The Health Profile of England provides national and local data, particularly around the six priority areas identified in the 2004 White Paper, Choosing Health (the Wanless Report): tackling health inequalities; reducing the number of people who smoke; reducing obesity and improving diet and nutrition; improving sexual health; improving mental health and wellbeing; and reducing harm and encouraging sensible drinking.

Turning a new leaf | 936.2 kB

13 Jul 2006 | 'Turning a new leaf: women, tobacco and the future' is a report by the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and the International Network of Women Against Tobacco, which details the many adverse effects of tobacco on the health and wellbeing of women and girls.

Surgeon General rpt on secondhand smoke | 424.3 kB

27 Jun 2006 | This is the executive summary of a report by the US surgeon general, entitled 'The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke'. It is an update of a 1986 report, and states that scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Shaping the context of health

01 Apr 2006 | 'Shaping the context of health: a review of environmental and policy approaches in the prevention of chronic disease', Ross C. Brownson, Debra Haire-Joshu and Douglas A. Luke, Annual Review of Public Health 2006 27 341-70. This article reviews 17 interventions to address tobacco use, physical activity and healthy eating, and the lessons learned in applying environmental and policy approaches.

Reductions in tobacco smoke pollution | 295.3 kB

17 Oct 2005 | 'Reductions in tobacco smoke pollution and increases in support for smoke-free public places following the implementation of comprehensive smoke-free workplace legislation in the Republic of Ireland' shows that there were dramatic reductions in smoking in all venues and that the legislation is a positive example of a population-level policy intervention. (Fong et al., Tobacco Control 2005)

Preventing chronic disease in China

05 Oct 2005 | This article, by Longde Wang, Lingzhi Kong, Yamin Bai and Robert Burton, is one of a series of four articles published by The Lancet in October 2005 on the prevention of chronic disease. Chronic diseases account for 80% of deaths and 70% of DALYs lost in China. Intervention mechanisms are developing rapidly.

Role of smoking in CV mortality

26 Jul 2005 | 'The role of smoking in global and regional cardiovascular mortality' (Majid Ezzati, S. Jane Henley, Michael J. Thun, Alan D. Lopez, Circulation, 2005) estimates the CVD mortality that can be attributed to tobacco use, and discusses regional variations.

Lessons from tobacco | 100.5 kB

16 Apr 2005 | Derek Yach, Martin McKee, Alan D. Lopez, Tom Novotny (for Oxford Vision 2020), ‘Improving diet and physical activity: 12 lessons from controlling tobacco smoking’, BMJ 330:898 (2005), suggests that the experience of controlling tobacco use has much to teach us in improving other risk factors for chronic disease.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth? | 115.1 kB

11 Oct 2004 | This article, subtitled 'The research that Philip Morris did not want you to see' sets out the arguments used by the tobacco industry in denying the harmful effects of smoking and second-hand smoke. (Pascal A. Diethelm, Jean-Charles Rielle and Martin McKee, in the Lancet, November 2004)

Tobacco presentation – OxHA 2004 | 2.6 MB

01 Sep 2004 | A Powerpoint presentation on Tobacco, given by Prof. Martin McKee at the 2004 OxHA Annual Meeting.

Curbing the epidemic

This World Bank report by Jha et al., 'Curbing the epidemic: governments and the economics of tobacco control', examines 'the economic questions that policymakers must address when contemplating tobacco control. It asks whether smokers know the risks and bear the costs of their consumption choices, and explores the options for governments if they decide that intervention is justified.'

Tobacco news and information: www.tobacco.org