THE TOBACCO CONSUMPTION : HISTORY

AND LEGISLATION CLASS: HEALTH LAW

PROFESSOR : DR. HELENA PEREIRA DE MELO

STUDENT : SALOMEA SZLEPER0 9 . 0 5 . 2 0 1 3

Basic facts about tobacco

According to Encyclopedia Brittanica “The most common uses of tobacco are for cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff. The plant also is used to obtain nicotine sulfate for use in insecticides and nicotine tartrate, which is used in some medicines.”

Basic facts about tobacco

According to the World Health Organization:

Tobacco kills up to half of its users;

Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year, of whom more than 5 million are from direct tobacco use and more than 600 000 are nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke;

Nearly 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries;

Consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in some high-income and upper middle-income countries.

The History of tobacco From a medicine to a poison

Tobacco is a plant that grows natively in North and South America. It is in the same family as the potato, pepper and the poisonous nightshade, a very deadly plant;

The seed of a tobacco plant is very small. A 1 ounce sample contains about 300,000 seeds;

It is believed that Tobacco began growing in the Americas about 6,000 B.C.;

Tobacco was believed to be a cure-all, and was used to dress wounds, as well as a pain killer. Chewing tobacco was believed to relieve the pain of a toothache;

The history of tobacco

On October 15, 1492, Christopher Columbus was offered dried tobacco leaves as a gift from the American Indians that he encountered;

Soon after, sailors brought tobacco back to Europe, and the plant was being grown all over the continent;

The major reason for tobacco's growing popularity in Europe was its supposed healing properties. Europeans believed that tobacco could cure almost anything, even cancer.

The history of tobacco

In 1588, Thomas Harriet promoted smoking tobacco as a viable way to get one's daily dose of tobacco. Unfortunately, he died of nose cancer (because it was popular then to breathe the smoke out through the nose);

This was also a time when some of the dangerous effects of smoking tobacco were being realized by some individuals. In 1610 Sir Francis Bacon noted that trying to quit the bad habit was really hard;

Over the years, more and more scientists begin to understand the chemicals in tobacco, as well as the dangerous health effects smoking produces.

The history of tobacco

In 1826, the pure form of nicotine is finally discovered. Soon after, scientists conclude that nicotine is a dangerous poison;

Cigarettes in the U.S. were mainly made from scraps left over after the production of other tobacco products, especially chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco became quite popular at this time with the "cowboys" of the American west;

It wasn't until the 1900's that the cigarette became the major tobacco product made and sold. Still, in 1901 3.5 billion cigarettes were sold, while 6 billion cigars were sold;

In 1902, the British Phillip Morris sets up a New York headquarters to market its cigarettes, including a now famous Marlboro brand.

The history of tobacco

The use of cigarette exploded during World War I, where cigarettes were called the "soldier's smoke“;

By 1923, Camel controls 45% of the U.S. market, One year later, Phillip Morris begins to market Marlboro as a woman's cigarette that is a "Mild as May"!;

To battle this, American Tobacco Company, maker of the Lucky Strike brand, begins to market its cigarette to women and gains 38% of the market. Smoking rates among female teenagers soon triple during the years between 1925-1935...;

In 1939, American Tobacco Company introduces a new brand, Pall Mall, which allows American to become the largest tobacco company in the U.S.

The history of tobacco

During World War II, cigarette sales are at an all time high. Cigarettes were included in a soldier's C-Rations (like food);

Tobacco companies sent millions of cigarettes to the soldiers for free, and when these soldiers came home, the companies had a steady stream of loyal customers;

During the 1950's, more and more evidence was surfacing that smoking was linked to lung cancer;

Although the tobacco industry denied such health hazards, they promoted new products which were "safer", such as those with lower tar and filtered cigarettes.

The history of tobacco

In 1965, television cigarette ads are taken off the air in Great Britain;

In 1966, those health warnings on cigarette packs begin popping up;

In 1971, television ads for cigarettes are finally taken off the air in the U.S. Cigarettes, however, are still the most heavily advertised product second to automobiles;

During the 1980's there were many lawsuits filed against the tobacco industry because of the harmful effects of its products. Smoking becomes politically incorrect, with more public places forbidding smoking.

The history of tobacco

Plain cigarette packaging

Is known as generic, standardized or homogenous packaging, refers to packaging that requires the removal of all branding (colors, imagery, corporate logos and trademark), permitting manufacturers to print only the brand name in a mandated size, font and place on the pack, in addition to the health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps. The appearance of all tobacco packs is standardized including the color of the pack.

Plain cigarette packaging

Tobacco Legislation in Australia

Australia

Under the legislation, companies have had to sell their cigarettes in a logo-free, drab dark brown packaging from 1 December 2012;

Government research found that olive green was the least attractive colour, particularly for young people. After concerns were expressed over the naming of the colour by the Australian Olive Association, the name was changed to drab dark brown;

With the plain packaging and tax increases the Australian government aims to bring down smoking rates from 16.6 per cent in 2007 to less than 10 per cent by 2018.

Passive smoking

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) – also called "second-hand smoke" and "passive smoking" - remains a widespread source of excess morbidity and mortality in the European Union, imposing significant costs on society as a whole;

Passive smoking in EU:

In the early nineties a number of EU health and safety at work directives defined certain restrictions on smoking at work. These were complemented by the Council Resolution of 1989 and the Recommendation on smoking prevention of 2002, which called on Member States to provide protection from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in indoor workplaces, enclosed public places, and public transport.

Tobacco and The European Union

Nearly 70% of EU citizens do not smoke and studies demonstrate that the majority of smokers want to stop smoking. According to the recent Eurobarometer Survey on the “Attitudes of Europeans towards Tobacco”, three quarters of Europeans are aware that tobacco smoke represents a health risk for non-smokers, while 95% acknowledge that smoking in the company of a pregnant woman can be very dangerous for the baby;

The survey results demonstrate that smoke-free policies are popular among EU citizens;

More than four out of five respondents are in favour of a ban on smoking in the workplace (86%) and any other indoor public place (84%);

A majority of Europeans are also in favour of banning smoking in bars (61%) and restaurants (77%);

Support for smoke-free pubs (over 80%) and restaurants (over 90%) is highest in the four Member States which have already banned smoking in hospitality venues;

This is another indication that the support for smoke-free policies tends to increase during the build-up to their introduction, and grows still further after implementation.

Annual cigarette consumption per person

EU documents concerning tobacco consumption

The Directive on Tobacco Products (2001) is the first major European legislation specifically related to tobacco products;

The Directive:

Requires manufacturers to put health warnings on tobacco products - bans the use of terms such as ‘light’, ‘mild’ or ‘low tar’ - forces producers to provide full information on all ingredients utilized in their products - sets maximum limits for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes.

The Directive on Tobacco Advertising

Bans cross-border advertising of tobacco products in printed media, radio and on-line services. It equally bans sponsorship of cross border events if it has the effect of promoting tobacco products;

Tobacco advertising and sponsorship on television was already prohibited since 1989. Now the Audiovisual Media Services Directive extends this ban to all forms of audiovisual commercial communications, including product placement;

This comprehensive advertising ban in the countries of the European Union is a central pillar of an efficient tobacco control policy and helps to make smoking less visible and attractive in society.

The Directive on Tobacco Taxation

Measures to curb tobacco use are not only found in health policy; tobacco is a cross-cutting issue which affects numerous policy areas;

Evidence clearly shows that high taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products are among the most effective instruments to reduce tobacco consumption, particularly in young people;

This is why EU legislation on the taxation of tobacco is increasingly seen not only as a fiscal instrument but also as an instrument of public health policy. The Commission has made a proposal to increase the minimum tobacco tax levels. Discussions on this proposal are ongoing.

Other EU institutions

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is involved in investigating cases of illicit trade of tobacco products which cost the EU billions of euros per year. In addition, illicit tobacco products are often cheaper and thus more easily affordable. This poses a threat to EU efforts on tobacco control;

Tobacco subsidies used to be an important but controversial agricultural policy issue in the EU. In the interest of public health, tobacco subsidies are currently being phased out and are scheduled to be eliminated by 2010.