Rapid Responses to:
|
|
Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
-
![[Read Rapid Response]](/icons/misc/sectionDOWN.gif)
Tobacco and free trade in China
- James A Dickinson (6 August 2000)
-
Problems of smokers who want to stop
- V Somisetty (7 August 2000)
-
Tobacco on the Shelf
- L Vitetta, A Sali (9 August 2000)
-
Kudos and concerns
- Lois Rosenfelt (12 August 2000)
-
You can stop Smoking!
- v somisetty (11 August 2004)
|
|
|||
|
James A Dickinson, Professor of Family Medicine Chinese University of Hong Kong
Send response to journal:
|
Your edition on smoking is a wonderful resource for teaching about the smoking epidemic and how doctors can work to treat their addicted patients. Several articles show that control requires wider social involvement, not just medical efforts, and showed that the US President and Surgeon General are assisting in these measures. Yet, this very week, a news report (Reuters, Washington, cited in South China Morning Post 3 August) described how negotiators from the US Department of Agriculture following up World Trade Organisation arrangements between the US and China have placed Tobacco imports first on their priority list for "liberalisation". The effects of this will be massive. Yang et al(1) have shown how smoking is increasing in China, and the widely-advertised high-priced prestige brands are leading the way. The effects of economic imperialism, pushing the tobacco that is increasingly being rejected in the West, will be far greater than those of the opium wars. While "trade restrictions may impose other costs" (2) it is hypocritical for the US to put tobacco first on the list for breaking the barriers. 1. Yang Gonghuan, Fan Lixin, Tan Jian, Qi Guoming, Zhang Yifang Samet Jonathan M Taylor Carl E, Becker Karen, Xu Jing Smoking in China Findings of the 1996 National Prevalence Survey JAMA 1999;282:1247-1253 2. Jha Prabhat, Chaloupka Frank J. The economics of global tobacco control BMJ 2000;321:358-361 |
|||
|
|
|||
|
V Somisetty, s.h.o coventry,uk
Send response to journal:
|
I feel just banning smoking in public places is not sufficient ,if some one wants to stop this malady for good they can ban selling of cigarrettes .The governments get so much revenue from this that they cannot ban this from the market.It is a necessary evil for the government. When a smoker decides to stop ,he will have withdrawal symptoms and it takes lot of determination ,self motivation ,and will power to continue to be nonsmoker for even one day leave alone for good.Stress of modern living lack of human touch to life ,loneliness, severe competition, insecurity in jobs and relationships all do contribute to the continuation of the habit or relapse if stopped. Regarding banning ,I feel it would be more effective if people are fined if seen smoking in public places .It has always been a effective method of controlling people as we all know.This would be really a serious step towards this end and not wishful thinking and advertisement and education. Education is not sufficicient because as all of usknow a majority of doctors are smokers . Smoking becomes a companion for a person who is alone and is done whatever is the craving of the person. A smoker smokes if happy, sad, angry, excited, depressed, hungry, frustrated, after eating /overeating, thirsty, homesick, missing someone..........the list is endless. Every kind of human craving whether it is physical ,emotional, mental, would cause a smoker to smoke .A smoker cannot imagine himself having a good moment or bad moment without a cigarette in his hand .I am not trying to glorify smokers or justify and this is only factually what is happening with all smokers in all parts of the word .There is no exception. Have you got a solution for this ? Vijaya Bhaskar Somisetty |
|||
|
|
|||
|
L Vitetta, Director of Research and Head of School Graduate School of Medicine Swinburne University, A Sali
Send response to journal:
|
Tobacco consumption is a global problem with enormous health consequences. Tobacco toxicity and its life threatning effects have been extensively documented. We agree with Jha and Chaloupka in this issue of the journal. The control of tobacco consumption through tough government policies would not harm economies but rather improve the chances of reducing the burden of ill health posed by tobacco's global health threat, an action that could ultimately help the economy through better health. Further, any product for human consumption found on any supermarket shelf, for example, like 'strawberry yoghurt' say, that was found to contain one tenth the carcinogenic potential of tobacco, would have its shelf life dramatically and permanently reduced by its immediate demise from view and more importantly from further consumption, an action that would follow almost immediately. Yet cigarette and tobacco products with abundant carcinogenic potential persist on the shelf, and sometimes to the detriment of the the 'yoghurt' along side the shelf. If the measures to reduce the supply of tobacco to the community are ineffective in reducing its use as Jha and Chaloupka's review states, certainly one may need to further address the position of the tobacco product on the shelf and as an added measure have it permanently removed from view. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Lois Rosenfelt, Health Educator Yavapai County Health Department/Yavapai Tobacco-Free Partnership
Send response to journal:
|
Thank you for all the excellent articles from the BMJ. I appreciate getting a global view. The article concerning "the tipping point" is excellent, and I support all of it. I do want to express a concern about the one issue of making tobacco products that are lower in nicotine, and therefore less addictive. We already know that for current smokers, the lower nicotine cigarettes simply requires more smoking to achieve the level of nicotine already in the body. But assuming you are referring to new initiates of tobacco, my main concern, although your logic is sound, is that anything we smoke, no matter how pure, is harmfuul to the lungs. It is simply the hot smoke that harms the lungs. Yes, indeed, we would be eliminating a series of devastating diseases, but are we curing the main problem? Several of us in the office are now using the BMJ website, and I have shared it with someone who works on a more state wide level. Thanks for making this available to everyone. Lois Rosenfelt |
|||
|
|
|||
|
v somisetty, dentist bd5 ona
Send response to journal:
|
Yes one can stop smoking if one really wanted to.It is not sufficient to say this because it is indeed very difficult to quit.But it is important to say that one can stop and most definitely can with a bit of help from family, friends and society. One has to try quitting with out any external help first and see how he/ she copes.If you can do it all alone that is fine .If not requestyour family and friends to support you.(say please please please support me when I am trying to quit).If you can with the help of family and friends support then it is fine. If you cannot still then try group nicotine therapy and am sure one can quit.Despite what ever support you have , if you dont have a good reason to stop then you cannot.Accept that you like it and still you want to quit it because you can live without it and you dont want to spoil your and other people`s health . Competing interests: None declared |
|||