Health

Tobacco Coalition Slams Report: “Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Customers”

Published

5 years ago

June 11, 2020

Bchcomber

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) and global health experts have dismissed as “naïve” and “harmful” a report published by a regional lobby group about the so-called teen epidemic in a bid to undermine scientific evidence in favor of reduced health-risk products.

Nancy Loucas, Executive Director of CAPHRA, described the report entitled “Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Customers” as a product of perception by a group that is funded by industry, including pharmaceutical interests that “justifies its existence by creating a teen ‘epidemic’ in order to remain relevant.”

Loucas said the report published by Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) for World No Tobacco Day could no longer deny the truth about the effectiveness of tobacco harm reduction and reduced-risk products such as e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products and snus in making smokers switch.

The report argued that “banning the manufacture, importation, promotion, distribution, sale and use of these products is still the most comprehensive approach” to regulating e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products.

Loucas said SEATCA’s argument that “e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are being used to entice a teen to take up vaping and potentially smoking” is the opposite of what happens in different countries when smoking rates are on the decline.

Scientific knowledge of e-cigarettes

She said that even the World Health Organization (WHO), after months of demonizing tobacco harm reduction and reduced-risk products, has recently come out with a theme report on World Vape Day. Stating that, “while it is expected that use of EN & NNDS [electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems] in these groups might increase their health risks.

Non-pregnant adult smokers who completely and promptly switch from combustible tobacco cigarette to use of unadulterated and appropriately regulated EN & NNDS alone might reduce their health risks.”

“The most interesting point in the WHO theme report is that WHO also expended a lot of space on the scientific knowledge of e-cigarettes, with a view to the public having more knowledge about e-cigarettes.

The very same public knowledge held by the consumers of CAPHRA’s member organizations, who are shut out of any discussion around tobacco control and harm reduction with their own governments,” Loucas said.

David Sweanor, a Canadian lawyer who has worked in global public health efforts on tobacco for over 30 years, said the SEATCA report “shows extraordinary levels of naivety about consumers, nicotine, the tobacco industry and the history of successful efforts to reduce risks for a vast array of other products and services.”

Banning safer alternatives

Sweanor said the report diminishes “an unparalleled opportunity to save millions of lives and to relegate cigarettes to the ashtray of history.”

“Inhaling cigarette smoke is extraordinarily toxic, resulting in over 20,000 global deaths daily. We have known for decades that the harm is from the smoke, not the nicotine. And we now have viable ways to give the nicotine people need or want without the inhalation of the toxic products of combustion.

“To see this situation as a reason to protect cigarettes by banning safer alternatives rather than using these safer products to attack the cigarette business is breathtakingly ignorant. It would be like dealing with a cholera epidemic by seeking to ban clean water or dealing with automobiles by banning safety features,” he said.

“I am shocked by just how counterproductive a paper they have produced. One might think novices in the field would seek advice from people like me. In this case, they not only failed to do that but defamed me. They clearly have an agenda, and it is advantaging the cigarette business rather than public health,” said Sweanor.

“At a very basic ethical level, they should prominently disclose their funding sources. When people purporting to be health advocates take positions so oppositional to public health, the public and regulators have a right to know of vested interests,” he said.

Bloomberg-funded organizations

Konstantinos Farsalinos, a cardiologist, senior researcher at the University of Patras in Greece and Highly Cited expert on tobacco harm reduction, said, “the SEACTA position to ban harm reduction nicotine products is an unfortunate display of unrealism and failure to understand and present the totality of evidence.”

“This is one of the many Bloomberg-funded organizations whose campaigns are actually protecting tobacco cigarette sales and profits since their proposals will result in the creation of a monopoly for tobacco cigarettes—the most harmful and deadliest nicotine product,” Farsalinos said.

“Banning the substantially less harmful, non-combustible nicotine products while allowing the sales of tobacco cigarettes is ironic, unreasonable, harmful for public health and a direct violation of human rights and of the 1986 WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion,” he said.

Professor Tikki Pangestu, a visiting professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in the National University of Singapore, said that by conflating the benefits for smokers who want to quit, with as yet unproven allegations of risks to youth, the report does a disservice to smokers and is an abuse of the human right to access better health.

“A more open and objective mind to the evidence, and a willingness to try out THR in addition to traditional strategies such as NRTs and cessation services, could go a long way to saving the lives of more than 1 billion smokers globally, most of whom live in LMICs [low and middle-income countries] of the developing world,” Pangestu said.

Tobacco harm reduction

Dr. Alex Wodak, an emeritus consultant of Alcohol and Drug Service at St. Vincent’s Hospital and president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, said tobacco harm reduction deserves to gain attention, not opposition, in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) where smoking results in 8 million deaths each year.

“Most of the worldwide 1 billion smoking-related deaths for the remainder of this century will also be in LMICs. The fact that LMICs are where most of the tobacco-related harm is now and even more so, is going to be in the future, are very good reasons to make advocacy in LMICs for THR the highest priority,” Wodak said.

“LMICs have younger populations and higher smoking rates than rich countries. These are all the more good reasons for making THR advocacy in LMICs a top priority,” he said.

About CAPHRA

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is an alliance of consumer organizations from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. That aims to educate, advocate and represent the right of adult alternative nicotine consumers to access and use of products that reduce harm from tobacco use.

Source: pressat

Health

Report Causes Pfizer Stock to Climb Approximately $1 Billion Acquired by Starboard

Published

4 months ago

October 7, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – According to a rumor that activist investor Pfizer Starboard Value has taken a holding in the struggling pharmaceutical business that is expected to be worth around one billion dollars, the stock of Pfizer (PFE) is on the increase in premarket trading on Monday.

This comes after the report was made public. The report was made available to the general public following this. Starboard Value was successful in moving forward with the acquisition of the position.

Starboard is said to have approached Ian Read, a former chief executive officer of Pfizer, and Frank D’Amelio, a former chief financial officer, in order to seek assistance with its goals of boosting the performance of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read and D’Amelio are both former Pfizer executives.

The purpose of this is to facilitate the accomplishment of its objectives, which include enhancing the overall performance of the firm.

In their previous jobs, D’Amelio and Read were chief financial officers.

It is stated in the report that the hedge fund is of the opinion that Pfizer, which is currently being managed by Albert Bourla, who succeeded Read as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2019, does not demonstrate the same level of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) discipline that Read did. Bourla took over for Read in 2019. Read was succeeded by Bourla in the year 2019.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate, has made substantial investments in the acquisition of more companies that are involved in the research and development of cancer medicines.

These businesses have been acquired for billions of dollars. The biotechnology company Seagen, which was acquired by Pfizer in the previous year for a price of $43 billion, is included in this category. One of the businesses that can be classified as belonging to this category is Seagen.

In spite of the fact that the S&P 500 Index experienced a 21% increase in 2024.

No major trading occurred in Pfizer stock that year.

Due to the fact that the demand for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines fell after the firm reached its pandemic peak in 2021, the share price of the corporation has decreased by over fifty percent since that time.

This drop has occurred ever since the company’s shares reached their maximum peak, which was during the time that this decline occurred. Not only have they not changed at all, but they have also remained essentially stable. This is in contrast to the S&P 500, which has gained 21% since the beginning of this year.

Recently, the corporation was forced to take a hit when it decided to recall all of the sickle cell illness medications that it had distributed all over the world.

Fears that the prescription could lead patients to experience severe agony and possibly even death were the impetus for the decision to recall the product. In spite of the fact that Pfizer’s stock is increasing by almost three percent as a result of the news that followed the company’s decision, this is the circumstance that has come about.

SOURCE: IPN

Health

New Study Reveals Drinking Soda Pop Increases the Risk of Stroke

Published

4 months ago

October 6, 2024

VORNews

If you drink too much soda, fruit juice and coffee, beware!

A recent report from global research indicates that excessive consumption of coffee or soda pop is associated with an increased risk of stroke, although the intake of black and green tea is correlated with a reduced risk. Excessive consumption of soda pop or coffee warrants caution!

Recent research indicates that it may substantially elevate the risk of stroke.

Consuming four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke, according to studies, although ingesting 3-4 cups of black or green tea daily typically offers protection against stroke. Additionally, consume more coffee; it may reduce your risk of mortality.

Recent findings from global research studies co-led by the University of Galway and McMaster University, alongside an international consortium of stroke researchers, indicate that soda, encompassing both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened variants such as diet or zero sugar, is associated with a 22 percent heightened risk of stroke. The risk escalated significantly with the consumption of two or more of these beverages daily.

Stroke Risk Fizzy Drinks and Soda Pop

The correlation between fizzy drinks consumption and stroke risk was most pronounced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Women exhibit the most elevated risk of stroke from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage) associated with fruit juice beverages. Consuming over 7 cups of water daily diminishes the likelihood of stroke due to a clot.

Researchers observed that numerous items advertised as fruit juice are derived from concentrates and have added sugars and preservatives, potentially negating the advantages often associated with fresh fruit and instead elevating stroke risk.

Fruit juice beverages were associated with a 37 percent heightened risk of stroke resulting from bleeding (intracranial hemorrhage). Consuming two of these beverages daily increases the risk thrice.

Consuming over four cups of coffee daily elevates the risk of stroke by 37 percent, although lower consumption levels do not correlate with stroke risk. Conversely, tea consumption was associated with an 18-20 percent reduction in stroke risk. Additionally, consuming 3-4 cups daily of black tea, such as Breakfast and Earl Grey varieties, excluding green and herbal teas, was associated with a 29 percent reduced risk of stroke.

Consuming 3-4 cups of green tea daily was associated with a 27 percent reduction in stroke risk. Notably, the addition of milk may diminish or inhibit the advantageous effects of antioxidants present in tea. The lower risk of stroke associated with tea consumption was negated for individuals who added milk.

Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational reasons and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical counsel. Consistently consult your physician regarding any inquiries pertaining to a medical problem.

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Starbucks Faces Sales Decline Amid Price Fatigue and Rising Competition

Health

Following a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer, What Else Should You Know?

Published

4 months ago

October 5, 2024

Salman

(VOR News) – Even though breast cancer affects one in eight American women, receiving a diagnosis can make a woman feel isolated.

Experts in breast cancer from the American College of Physicians (ACS) advise patients on how to manage their disease so that they may better cope with this awful information.

First, the kind and stage of breast cancer dictates the course of your care.

In addition to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there are various surgical options available for the treatment of breast cancer.

Women of African descent are disproportionately affected by triple-negative breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease that has never proven easy to treat.

According to the American Cancer Society, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy, has been shown to be helpful when combined with chemotherapy and is currently the recommended course of treatment for certain combinations of triple-negative breast cancer.

In her presentation, Dr. Katharine Yao said, “It’s really important that the patient and physician discuss the patient’s preferences and values when deciding what type of treatment to pursue and that they have an honest, individualized discussion with their care team.”

She is currently responsible for developing breast cancer treatment recommendations for more than 575 hospitals and institutions nationwide in her role as chair of the American College of Surgeons’ National Accreditation Program for Breast Institutions (NAPBC).

Yao, vice chair of research at Endeavor Health NorthShore Hospitals in New York, pointed out that each decision made about a patient’s treatment plan should take her preferences and diagnosis into consideration.

She ought to think about whether she would prefer a mastectomy—a surgical procedure that involves removing the entire breast with or without reconstruction—or a lumpectomy, which involves a surgical procedure that spares part of the breast tissue.

She stated that “the breast cancer you have may be very different from the breast cancer you hear about in your neighbor, colleague, or friend” in a press release issued by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Consider that while discussing breast cancer with others.”

Throughout your journey, it is critical that you look after your emotional health because having breast cancer may have a detrimental impact on your mental health.

“Getting a cancer diagnosis does not mean that everything in your life stops to be normal.” Director of the Fellowship in the Diseases of the Breast program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas and state head of the American Cancer Society Commission on Cancer for Arkansas, Dr. Daniela Ochoa She thinks adding the burden of a cancer diagnosis and treatment to all the other pressures in life may be taxing.

“Managing stress and emotional health is vital component of a treatment plan.”

Ochoa recommends clinically trained psychologists and social workers who have assisted people in coping with cancer to anyone receiving treatment. Learning coping techniques might also be facilitated by joining cancer support groups or cancer wellness initiatives.

Breast cancer specialists say your care team is crucial.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) defines comprehensive care as having support at every stage of the procedure from surgeons, oncologists, patient navigators, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and other specialists.

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, women should see a surgeon or medical oncologist to explore their options; nevertheless, treatment shouldn’t be discontinued after just one appointment or after surgery is over.

Additionally, you can ask trustworthy friends or family members to accompany you to appointments and aid you with research or notes. They could serve as a network of support for you.

Yao stated in his talk that “one of the most important things is that patients should search out a team they have confidence in, that they trust will have their back when they need it, and a team they feel they can get access to and that will help them when they are in need.”

SOURCE: MP