Search

Objective: This study aimed to examine recent levels of exposure to smoking in movies, how the community perceived the level of smoking they saw in recently-viewed movies and whether there was community support for any form of regulation., Methods: As part of a 2004 New South Wales survey of smoking-related perceptions and practices, 1,154 adults participated in a computer-assisted telephone interview about perceptions relating to smoking depiction in movies and television., Results: More than one-quarter of those who had seen a recent movie in the cinema (28.5%) or on DVD (33.9%) thought that the movie contained excessive or inappropriate smoking. More than half the sample (59.1%) considered it likely the tobacco industry played a role in the level of smoking depiction, although only 18% of those who thought a recent movie contained excessive smoking attributed this to the tobacco industry. Almost two-thirds of respondents favoured screening anti-tobacco advertisements prior to movies with smoking., Conclusion: Cinema and DVD movies commonly include scenes where there is excessive or inappropriate smoking. It is widely believed that the tobacco industry is contributing to this, and there is strong community support for action to curb the harmful influences this may be having.

Objective: To assess community attitudes towards smoking bans, tobacco availability, promotion and product regulation, tobacco industry donations to political parties, and government spending on tobacco control activities. To compare public preferences on these issues with policies of the NSW and Commonwealth governments., Method: Anonymous, computer assisted telephone interviews of adults from randomly selected households in the NSW Electronic White Pages conducted in 2004. All subjects completed a core question set and subsequently, one of three sub-sets., Results: Overall 49.1% of eligible subjects consented. Data from two sub-samples containing 1,191 and 1,158 subjects are reported. Majority support existed for smoking bans in all six settings assessed: children's playgrounds (89%), sports stadia (77%), licensed premises (72%), outdoor dining (69%), beaches (55%) and motor vehicles carrying children (55%). Respondents nominated vastly higher tobacco control budgets than current levels of government expenditure. On a scale assessing support for tobacco control (maximum score = 13), the mean scores of both non-smokers (10.4) and smokers (8.0) were high. Of seven variables tested, only two: living with a smoker and personal smoking status were independent predictors of having a high pro-tobacco control score., Conclusion: There is strong community support for additional government regulation mandating smoke-free provision and other counter tobacco measures., Implications: Continued advocacy campaigns are required to align government tobacco control agenda more closely with public preferences.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.011 Byline: Christine L. Paul (a), Kathleen J. Mee (b), Tanya M. Judd (b), Raoul A. Walsh (a), Anita Tang (c), Andrew Penman (c), Afaf Girgis (a) Abstract: Relatively little attention has been given to the retail availability of tobacco products despite the likelihood that ubiquitous supply may represent a primary form of tobacco promotion in Australia. This study aimed to explore the number and distribution of tobacco outlets, smokers' perceptions about the availability of tobacco and the role availability may play in tobacco consumption and quitting attempts in Australia. The study comprised two parts: Part A involved mapping retail tobacco outlets in the Hunter Region of NSW, Australia. Part B involved a statewide telephone survey of 539 current smokers aged 18 years and over in NSW. Part A identified 1270 retail tobacco outlets, giving a density of one outlet per 384 persons aged over 15 years, or one outlet per 77 smokers. Associations between socioeconomic status of areas and retail availability of tobacco were not found. Of the survey respondents in Part B, 87.5% indicated that they would be within walking distance of a retail tobacco outlet during their daily activities. Those who were younger, male and single were more likely to purchase tobacco at convenience-type outlets. We therefore conclude that some groups of smokers appear vulnerable to the availability of tobacco and a reduction in the availability of tobacco is likely to benefit smokers who wish to quit. Author Affiliation: (a) Centre for Health Research & Psych-oncology (CHeRP), Cancer Council NSW, University of Newcastle & Hunter Medical Research Institute, Callaghan, NSW, Australia (b) Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia (c) Cancer Council NSW, Woolloomooloo, NSW, Australia

There has been no systematic examination of issues surrounding pension funds and their tobacco shareholdings. This paper describes two studies designed to document the tobacco investment policies and practices of pension funds, and to assess community and fund member attitudes to pension fund shareholdings in the tobacco industry. Chief executives (n = 282) of Australian pension funds were mailed questionnaires. Of 241 eligible funds, 107 (44.4%) returned questionnaires, representing about 61% of total Australian primary superannuation accounts. Twelve percent indicated that they did not currently hold tobacco investments, 30% held tobacco shares and 58% did not know or failed to answer. Overall, 6% of respondents said that they held no tobacco investments and would not consider future investments; 2% had formal policies precluding tobacco investments. Funds with 10000 or more members were more likely (p = 0.0006) to report tobacco investments. External fund manager advice was the most important factor influencing the funds' position. In the second study, a one-third random sub-sample of consenting subjects from 12 000 households randomly selected from the New South Wales Electronic White Pages completed phone interviews. From 7141 eligible households, 3503 (49.1%) subjects consented. One-third (n = 1158) were asked the pension fund questions. Over three-quarters (77.4%) of all respondents disagreed that pension fund investments in tobacco were ethical. Approximately two-thirds (63.6%) of fund members (n = 852) agreed that their funds should not make tobacco investments. There were three statistically significant predictors of opposition to such investments: being female, more highly educated and non-smoking status. Nearly all pension funds treat tobacco investments like any other investment. In contrast, most of the public including fund members are strongly opposed to such investments. Suggestions for public health advocacy strategies to reduce the negative health promotion effects of pension funds in this area are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the ethics of universities' tendency to accept donations from the tobacco industry. Tobacco industry sponsorship; Universities receiving funds from the industry; Pros and cons of receiving money from the industry.