Get ready for plain packaging The country is enforcing a new law which will force tobacco products to have plain packaging and graphic warning signs. Plain packaging is an important demand reduction measure:• It reduces the attractiveness of tobacco

products, • Restricts the use of tobacco packaging to

be used as a form of advertising and • Limits misleading packaging and labelling. And the use of graphic (pictorial) package warnings will depict the serious implications of tobacco use.

Did you know?• Tobacco-related diseases kill over 44 000

South Africans and nearly 6 million people worldwide annually, that is, one person every six seconds which amounts to 1:10 persons in the world.

• 600 000 non-smokers are killed every year by being exposed to second-hand smoke

• Tobacco use increases the risk of cancer of the lungs, oesophagus, mouth, bladder, pancreas, kidney, stomach, prostate, cervix and breast

No under 18-year old is allowed to buy tobacco productsThe law states that no person shall sell or supply any tobacco product to any person under the age of 18 years

What is really in cigarettes?Tobacco and second-hand smoke contain over 1 400 dangerous and harmful chemicals and 81 cancer causing chemicals have so far been identified in cigarettes [according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)].

Some of these are:• Acetone – paint stripper• Ammonia – toilet cleaner• Arsenic – rat poison• Butane – lighter fluid• Carbon monoxide – exhaust fumes• Naphthalene – mothballs• Phenol – disinfectant

What is really in hubbly-bubbly?Waterpipe smoke contains over 300 dangerous and harmful chemicals, and 27 cancer causing chemicals have so far been identified in hookah.

Some of these are:• Arsenic• Carbon monoxide• Formaldehyde• Lead • Nicotine• Tar

The dangers of second-hand smokeSecond-hand smoke is harmful• Second-hand smoke contains twice as much

tar and nicotine per unit volume as does smoke inhaled from a cigarette.

• Has 3x as much cancer-causing benzopyrene, • 5x as much carbon monoxide, • and 50x as much ammonia. • Second-hand smoke from pipes and cigars is

equally as harmful. • Causes lung cancer and contributes to the

development of heart disease

SECOND HAND SMOKE

it’s just as bad

Whatever you smoke, whether it’s a hookah,

pipes, cigarettes or cigars, you are exposing those around you to the same toxins that you are

inhaling. You need to keep the health of others

top of mind.

What you should knowAll forms of tobacco is dangerous!Cigarettes are not the only dangerous form of smoking. Hubbly bubbly, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (such as snuff, chewing-tobacco and ‘snus’) is also harmful to your body

Other forms of smoking…Smokeless tobacco• Smokeless tobacco products includes snuff, chewing-tobacco and ‘snus’. These

products also increase the risk of cancer, especially head and neck cancersElectronic cigarettes • E-cigarettes may contain nicotine and

other harmful chemicals• E-cigarettes are controlled by the South

Africa Health Product Regulatory Agencyand is available only by prescription in a pharmacy*

* Currently, this law is not being enforced and as a national watchdog, CANSA is lobbying for it to be upheld

Other forms of smoking…Hookah / hubbly bubbly• Hookah (and cigarette smoke) both

contain poisons, including nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, and lead

• Arsenic is used as a rat poison, and carbon monoxide is a deadly gas also found in motor car exhaust

• Even in small amounts, lead can make children hyperactive, irritable and cause brain damage

• The water in the hookah DOES NOT filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke

‘A number of studies with adult smokers point to plain packaging fulfilling its core

aims of reducing appeal, particularly among young adults, and increasing warning salience. In a cross-sectional

tracking survey of cigarette smokers, plain packaging was associated with increased

thinking about quitting and quit attempts. In addition, dislike of the pack,

lower satisfaction from cigarettes and attributing motivation to quit to the warnings predicted daily thoughts of

quitting.’

According to a recent paper published by Professor Gerard Hastings, a prominent tobacco control researcher

Time to Kick ButtCANSA’s eKick Butt programme – an unique online smoking cessation programme. Through a series of emails, surveys and downloads, it guides you and mentors quitting smoking and non-smoking becomes a lifelong habit, not merely the time interval between two cigarettes. This programme supplies a series of handy tools – tried and tested – to help one quit for good.

www.ekickbutt.org.za

Imagine a healthier you?Quitting tobacco can have a positive effect on your health and lifestyle:• Reducing the cancer risk• Lower heart rate and blood pressure• Breathing better• Being able to walk without shortness

of breath• Living a longer and healthier life• Having more physical energy• Being a good role model for children

and youth

Timeline of quitting20 minutes after last cigarette: blood pressure and pulse rate drops; body

temperature rises toward normal8 hours after quitting: carbon monoxide level in blood drops to

normal; oxygen level rises to normal24 hours after quitting: chance of a heart attack decreases

48 hours after quitting: nerve endings start re-growing; ability to smell and taste is enhanced

After 2 weeks to 3 months: circulation improves; walking becomes easier; lung function improves

Time of quittingAfter 1 to 9 months decrease in coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue,

shortness of breathAfter 1 year: excess risk of coronary heart disease is

decreased to half that of a smokerAfter 5 to 15 years: stroke risk is reduced to that of people who

have never smokedAfter 10 years: risk of lung cancer drops to as little as one-half

that of continuing smokers; risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases; risk of ulcer decreases

After 15 years: risk of coronary heart disease is now similar to that of people who have never smoked; risk of death returns to nearly the level of people who have never smoked.

Know the law – it’s your rightto a smoke-free world• Legislation is very clear about where people

may smoke and where smoking is prohibited• It’s your right to complain when someone

smokes in your presence• It’s also your right to take remedial steps if

someone smokes in any area where smoking is prohibited

• Read the key points to this law here: http://www.cansa.org.za/know-the-law-its-your-right-to-a-smoke-free-world/

Keep your environment smoke-free• Keep your environment smoke-free

and report all non-compliance of the Tobacco Control Act to the Environmental Health Officer of the local municipality where the incident occurred.

The End

Thank You

www.cansa.org.zaToll-free 0800 22 66 22

Whilst the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) has taken every precaution in compiling this presentation, neither it, nor any contributor(s) to this presentation can be held responsible for any action (or the lack thereof) taken by any person or organisation wherever they shall be based, as a result, direct or otherwise, of information contained in, or accessed through, this presentation.