Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The aim to raise awareness about lung cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia and the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.

Source: Cancer Council

The Cancer Councils Making Smoking History Manager says that 90% of lung cancer cases in men are directly related to smoking and 65% of case in women. There are thousands of compounds in cigarettes including many known carcinogens from various chemical classes. See the Cancer Council's site for more information.

Symptoms of lung cancer include shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, coughing or spitting up blood, a persistent cough. recurring bronchitis or pneumonia, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss and fatigue. Visit your health professional if you are suffering from any of these symptoms. Early diagnosis increases the success rate treatment.

If you want to quit smoking and need help call the Cancer Council's Quitline on 137848 or visit makesmokinghistory.org.au

Help people with mental health conditions quit smoking

Australians with mental health conditions are more than twice as likely to smoke as the general population. About twenty-two percent of people with a mental health condition smoke daily compared to a national rate under thirteen percent. The more severe your illness, the more likely you are to smoke. About 60 - 70% of people with psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia smoke.

Some health professionals might have put smoking in the "too hard basket" for patients with complex or acute health needs. But, there is evidence to show that people with mental illnesses want to stop smoking, that they are capable of stopping, and that smoking causes stress rather than relieving it. Research also shows quitting does not aggravate mental health, but can improve it.

People with mental health conditions want improved physical health and to address risk factors. However, mental health providers often don’t see this as their job while they concentrate on improving a patient’s mental health.

Read more here

                                                                   Source : The Conversation

Smoking Ban in Psychiatric Hospitals

The introduction of a smoking ban in one of the UK’s largest mental health trusts led to a 39% drop in violence, a study has found, despite long held assumptions that banning cigarettes in psychiatric settings would lead to an increase in assaults. Smoking has been a long standing accepted practice in mental health, and mental health needs to look at the lack of evidence that says smoking helps prevent aggression.
Smoking ban in psychiatric hospital led to drop in violent assaults. BMJ 2017; 357 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2952 (Published 19 June 2017) 

Alcohol and drug treatment services in Australia

In 2015-16, around 796 alcohol and other drug treatment agencies provided just over 206,000 treatment episodes to an estimated 133,000 clients. This was an icrease of 17% over the five previous years. The most common drugs leading people to seek treatment were alcohol (32%), cannabis (23%), amphetamines (23%) and heroin (6%). Two in three clients were male and 55% were aged 20-39. Treatment for amphetamines is continuing to increase.

The AIHW has presented Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia, 2015-16: key findings  a useful summary of the National Minimum Data Set published recently. The site also links to all the available data on alcohol, smoking and illicit drug taking in Australia.

Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease

The latest 2017 COPD GOLD guidelines address advancements in COPD management and
incorporate evidence from recent landmark clinical trials. There are a number of important changes:

•  Severity of airflow obstruction via spirometry is no longer part of the severity classification system. 
• Dual bronchodilatation with LABA/LAMA therapy is recommended for GOLD grades B and C.
•  Inhaled corticosteroids should no longer be used as monotherapy in COPD.
•  Pharmacotherapy for secondary pulmonary hypertension in the setting of COPD is not recommended. 
• Oxygen therapy is also not recommended for COPD patients with no evidence of severe resting hypoxaemia.

Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic

Obstructive Lung Disease 2017 Report.

Healthy Communities - Obesity and smoking rates in Australia

Two new reports from the Healthy Communities series have been released by the Australian Government.  Both are well-illustrated with infographics and easily accessible.

Healthy communities: overweight and obesity rates across Australia, 2014-15 presents local rates of overweight and obesity by Primary Health Network areas, which in 2014-15 ranged from 53% in Northern Sydney to 73% in Country South Australia. There were higher rates for people in regional areas than in cities.  

Healthy communities: Tobacco smoking rates across Australia 2014-15 shows that although national smoking rates have been steadily declining in recent years, there are some local areas where smoking rates remain relatively high. In 2014-15, daily smoking rates ranged from 5% in Northern Sydney to 23% in Western NSW and that regional PHN areas generally had higher smoking rates than metropolitan PHN areas. Across Australia in that period, 14.5% of adults smoke daily.

Tobacco indicators - midpoint progress

This report presents the progress being made against the National Tobacco Strategy 2012-2018 indicators. Most indicators are showing a favourable progress, particularly for exposure to tobacco smoke, uptake of smoking, transition to established smoking and regular smoking among young people, adults and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, some groups achieved greater progress than others, and inequalities within particular groups increased for some indicators.

Tobacco indicators: measuring midpoint progress - reporting under the National Tobacco Strategy 2012–2018. Drug statistics series no.30, AIHW 29 September 2016

Health risks from electronic cigarette vapour

www.flickr.com

A recent paper in the journal Public Health Research & Practice aimed to summarise and review all studies that have examined potential adverse health effects of passive exposure from inhaling e-cigarette vapour. 

A systematic review of the health risks from passive exposure to electronic cigarette vapour looked at both the absolute and relative impact of exposure to vapour, as compared to the passive exposure of inhaling ordinary cigarette smoke. The systematic review, which included 16 studies, found that those passively exposed to the vapours of e-cigarette users are exposed to numerous pollutants that are associated with potential adverse health effects.  However, this risk is likely to be less than the risk from passive exposure to conventional cigarette smoke.

Isabel M.R. Hess et al, Public Health Research & Practice 2016;26(2):e2621617 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17061/phrp2621617

WHO Global tobacco epidemic report 2015

This year's WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic details the continued success in global tobacco control.  Much progress has been made with their MPOWER measures in the last ten years. These include smoke-free environments, cessation programmes, warning labels, mass media, advertising bans and taxation. 

The report provides country-specific data and has a special focus on tobacco taxation (as the least implemented measure worldwide) in all WHO Member States.

Global Drug Survey 2015

The Global Drug Survey (an independent research organisation) each year attracts more than 100,000
online responses from individuals around the world about their drug use. The study looks at prevalence, price, purity, value for money and the proportion of people seeking medical treatment. The 2015 survey specifically focussed on:

• The dark net - with the closure of Silk Road, how are people buying drugs online?
• Nitrous oxide - the risks of neurological harm from this drug
• E-cigarettes - whether these might be used for something other than nicotine
• Performance enhancing drugs - weight loss agents and anabolic steroids
• Cognitive enhancers - Ritalin, modafanil and atomoxetine use among students and working people.

E-cigarettes: regulatory and policy options

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A briefing paper just published by the NSW Parliamentary Research Office offers an overview of the legal position in respect to e-cigarettes, as well as a summary of research findings and an overview of the current debate.  

 

E-cigarettes: regulatory and policy options by Gareth Griffith, begins with a description of e-cigarettes and the various forms they come in - with or without nicotine. The author goes on to look at the health risks, while acknowledging that the body of evidence is still small, and then looks at regulations and policies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canad and New Zealand.  

'The downward trend in smoking ... is a public health success story. It is understandable that public health professionals and others should seek to guard against any new innovation that might jeopardise the advances that have been made in this field. It is in that context that much of the debate about e-cigarettes occurs.  In essence, the question is not whether e-cigarettes should be regulated or not; rather, it is about the degree of regulation required for e-cigarettes of all kinds, those containing and those not containing nicotine.”

Two thirds of deaths in current smokers attributed to smoking

A study published this week in BMC Medicine as part of the SAX Institute's 45 and Up Study adds weight to the theory that smoking kills.  Tobacco smoking and all-cause mortality in a large Australian cohort study: findings from a mature epidemic with current low smoking prevalence looked at over 200,000 adults over 45 in New South Wales and assessed their relative risk for all-cause mortality among current, past and never smokers, adjusting for age, education, income, residence, alcohol use and body mass index.

The results indicate that in Australia, up to two-thirds of deaths in current smokers can be attributed to smoking, with current smokers estimated to die an average of 10 years earlier than non-smokers.  The indications for smoking cessation supports other studies which indicate that cessation reduces mortality the earlier in life cessation occurs. 

The article is available on freely on open access.

Banks, Emily et al. BMC Medicine (2015) 13:38  DOI 10.1186/s12916-015-0281-z 

Electronic Cigarettes: getting the science right and communicating it accurately

Electronic cigarettes are being used by millions of people worldwide, mostly in an attempt to reduce smoking or stop altogether. Policy makers, smokers, clinicians and the public in general need accurate information on their safety and potential for reducing smoking rates. Unfortunately in some notable cases the science is being misused, with findings being distorted, misinterpreted or 

misrepresented. 

The journal Addiction, presents 19 articles in a free virtual issue in an attempt to clarify the debate over e-cigarettes. The title of the virtual issue is Electronic cigarettes: getting the science right and communicating it accurately.

You can also read the latest themed virtual issues and online collections from Addiction here.

AIHW PowerPoint presentations available

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has made available four PowerPoint presentations. You can use them as they are, or insert some or all of them into your own presentation (with acknowledgement of course).  The topics available are:

• Australia's health 2014 (5.2 MB PPT) (21 slides with notes included)  
• Diabetes on the rise (479KB PPT) (single slide)  
• Smoking and alcohol (461KB PPT) (2 slides)  
• Weight and exercise (433KB PPT) (single slide) 

National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2013: key findings

This recent report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare refers to survey findings and information collected by The National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS). Data on alcohol and tobacco consumption, and illicit drug use among the general population in Australia has been compiled and it also surveys people's attitudes and perceptions relating to tobacco, alcohol and other drug use. The NDSHS is conducted every three years and the AIHW has been collating and reporting on these surveys since 1998.  
National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2013: key findings. 

Driving and your health

As little as two hours a day behind the wheel is a potential risk factor for a range of poor health behaviours and outcomes. People who drive for two hours or more per day are more likely to smoke, to be obese, and to be less physically active. This journal article from PLOS ONE uses data from the Social, Economic, and Environmental Factor Study conducted in New South Wales in 2010 by the Sax Institute, and is freely available to read and download. 

Driving: A Road to Unhealthy Lifestyles and Poor Health Outcomes, PLOS ONE, June 09, 2014  DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094602

The Health Consequences of Smoking

Evidence in this new Surgeon General's report shows how smoking contributes to the increased health burden of the nation. Tobacco use in America has halved since the 1964 report, and the collective view of smoking has been transformed from an accepted national pastime to a discouraged threat to individual and public health. Click on the link below to download the full report, print out fact sheets and consumer booklets.

The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014 

The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations and the health of Australians

The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has the potential to negatively impact the health of Australians by raising the cost of medicine and limiting the government's ability to regulate tobacco and alcohol, argues this paper, based on publicly available and recently leaked negotiating documents. The purpose of this policy brief, by the Centre for Health Equity Training, Research and Evaluation at the University of New South Wales, is to inform the debate from a health perspective in the final stages of the negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in February 2014. The brief focuses on two specific issues: the cost of medicines, and the ability of government to take major steps to improve the health of Australians by regulating the areas of tobacco and alcohol policy.

The authors conclude that while there is some potential for the TPPA to contribute to economic development, there is also significant risk that the economic gains and the health of the Australian community, will be threatened if certain proposed provisions are adopted for the TPPA. These include increased direct costs in terms of providing health care and increased use of hospitals, higher costs of obtaining pharmaceuticals, indirect costs associated with lost productivity across society, continuing or exacerbating inequalities in society, and the worsening health of Australia’s already vulnerable communities.
Authored by: Katie Hirono, Deborah Gleeson, Fiona Haigh, Patrick Harris  (APO 19/2/14)

Tobacco Smoking Rates Across Australia, 2011–12

This report by the National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) presents adult smoking rates at the local level across Australia. In 2011–12, 2.8 million adults smoked tobacco daily and smoking rates varied across local areas. This report shows that the percentage of adults who smoked daily varied four-fold across local areas, ranging from 6% in Sydney North Shore and Beaches to 28% in Grampians. In four local areas, one in 10 adults or fewer were daily smokers. Rates in some local areas were still relatively high as one-third of all local areas had smoking rates of at least 20% – equivalent to at least one in five people smoking daily. Smoking is a major risk factor for many chronic conditions including coronary heart disease, stroke and many cancers. Rates of smoking have been declining for many decades. Latest national data shows 16% of adults smoked daily in 2011–12. Smoking is still one of the largest single preventable causes of death and disease in Australia and this represents an enormous social and economic burden on individuals and the health system. (APO 24/10/13)

Risk factor trends: age patterns in key health risk factors over time

This report presents comparisons over time for different age groups for key health risk factors, including overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. The good news is  that smoking rates have declined, particularly among younger people. However, overweight/obesity rates have increased for virtually all age  groups, especially females aged 12 to 44.

Download this recent AIHW report here.