such a way as to implement rather thandefeat the legislative purposes.

The appeals committee accordinglyconcluded that to give sucking a narrowmeaning as proposed by Dingler, wouldallow the ‘‘very mischief the Act wasdesigned to remedy to be achieved… Toinsist that cheek muscles and tongue haveto be used otherwise it is not a tobaccoproduct’’ would defeat the purposes ofthe Act. The appeal was dismissed.

The episode provides a cautionary tale,demonstrating that even a tobacco com-pany that would have us believe it shouldnot be classed in the same low category asthe big cigarette manufacturers canbehave in exactly the same way whenits interests are threatened. Also, apartfrom demonstrating how an already goodlaw was interpreted the way parliamenthad clearly intended, defeating an attemptat outrageous legal trickery, it had another,even more positive outcome. Parliamentamended the definition of a tobacco pro-duct, which is now described as a product‘‘intended for human consumption’’,removing any ambiguity. (See also SouthAfrica: Swedish snus snare. Tobacco Control2007;16:365–6.)Yussuf SaloojeeNational Council Against Smoking, SouthAfrica; ysalooje@iafrica.com

TURKEY: NEW FEARS, NEW HOPESLong-term readers of Tobacco Control mayhave felt quite giddy at times from therollercoaster developments of Turkey’stobacco control policy. There was littlemovement at the start, of course, but oncethe thing got going, speedy policy gainswere followed by hopes being dashed byeconomic supremos insisting on letting thefree market—for which read Philip Morrisand friends—being allowed seeminglyunfettered access to the nation’s hugeyouth population. Next there was to be acomprehensive tobacco bill, then it gotstuck and, even after finally being passedinto law, the government seemed highlyreluctant to enforce it.

All that is history now, an optimistmight think, with the new start offeredby the World Health Organization’sFramework Convention on TobaccoControl (FCTC). But the white knuckleride has started again, with news late lastyear that the much needed smoke-free billrequired under the FCTC had left thecommission of justice not as the shinynew state-of-the-art model that healthworkers had been working so hard toproduce, but in a state they could onlydescribe as "destroyed". And surprising asit may have been to anyone naive enough

to believe the corporate social responsi-bility nonsense spewed out by tobaccocompanies, the usual suspects who do thecompanies’ dirty work in the media hadbeen running highly misleading articlesjustifying the destruction.

However, this is Turkey and when theroller coaster plunges down, it can oftenswoop back up again unexpectedly to itsformer height. Sure enough, when thecountry’s prime minister, accompanied hisby health minister, launched the nationaltobacco control programme in December,his speech sounded as though he really wasdetermined to have strong legislation andcompletely smoke-free indoor areas. Ashealth experts were weighing up whetherthey could allow themselves to recoversome of their lost hopes, they realised thattheir premier was unaware of the treacher-ous items in the bill that were so favourableto the tobacco industry. So what did theydo? Again, remember this is Turkey, wherethings can work a little differently frommany other countries. They simply stoppedhim on his way out, explained the dangersand pleaded with him to hold out for acompletely smoke-free environment. Theirreward was an assurance from both theprime minister and the health minister thatthey would stand firm. Time will tell how itwill all end but meantime the roller coasterwas last seen heading upwards again.

JAPAN: REVOLUTION ON THE STREETSWhile tobacco control policy often devel-ops incrementally, progress occasionallyarrives with a ‘‘tipping point’’

dynamic. After seemingly fruitless yearsof administrative petitions, lawsuits andpublic protest, the quick uptake of smoke-free taxi rules in Japan from 3% to over50% in a mere 16 months represents agreat leap forward. Advocates haveachieved stunning results as this enhance-ment for clean air for passengers willvitally protect the workplace health ofwell over 100 000 taxi drivers.

The change began quietly when the taxiassociation in Oita, a small prefecturalcapital on Japan’s southern island ofKyushu with a substantial tourism econ-omy, implemented Japan’s first smoke-freetaxi rules for its 980 vehicles in April 2006,adding an additional 180 taxis in theprefecture’s outlying areas in September2006. Then, after May 2007, whenNagoya’s taxi association proved this couldwork for 8000 taxis in the country’s fourthlargest city, Kanagawa prefecture includingYokohama and Kawasaki, Japan’s secondand ninth largest cities, and eight otherprefectures rapidly joined in. The crownjewel was put in place in August 2007 whenthe city and metro region taxi associationsof the capital, Tokyo, announced smoke-free rules scheduled for implementation inJanuary 2008.

Important tasks remain. Taxi regula-tion has come about by local industry self-regulation, attributed to customerdemand more than to public health, dueto smoke left in too many cabs through-out Japan. Also, while progress is materi-alising from an advisory national law andmarket-driven private sector policies,

Japan: a comprehensive street sign clearly showing what is not permitted in streets within the areashown on the map.

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countless workplaces in Japan still lack anyclean air protection. When it comes totobacco smoke pollution, Japan’s govern-mental authorities remain stubbornly onthe sidelines, avoiding the enactment ofmandatory and comprehensive clean indoorair laws contemplated by Article 8 of theWorld Health Organization’s FrameworkConvention on Tobacco Control and itsimplementation guidelines.

The 16-month rise from 3% to 50% oftaxis being smoke-free reveals how apopular tobacco control policy can emergein Japan, even in a sector which, aside fromsmoke-free banners flown over a merehandful of vehicles, had seemed imperviousto change. It shows that clean air policiesare economically viable and that they canbe implemented with high levels ofcompliance. Clearly, the Japanese public isready. With the taxi example as a guide,decision makers in both the public andprivate sectors should step forward to givethe public more of what it wants anddeserves.Mark LevinWilliam S Richardson School of Law, TheUniversity of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu,USA; levin@hawaii.edu

JAPAN: REVOLUTION BESIDE THE STREETSIn addition to taxis, Japan is showing notonly rapid progress but some of theworld’s best practice at implementingsmoking restrictions at street level; to beprecise, some 40 cities and districts havenow banned smoking in outdoor public

areas such as pavements on its famouslybusy city streets. The bans are clearlysignposted and small areas are commonlydesignated, such as areas outside conveni-ence stores and other expedient locations,as the only places within designated smoke-free zones where people can smoke.

In Japan, world leader in politeness andgood manners, regulations prohibitingstreet smoking enjoy widespread publicsupport and compliance is high. Chiyoda,a business district of Tokyo, has 40 000residents but during the day the populationexpands to around one million. Officials inthe district have issued 40 000 infringementnotices for smoking in smoke-free areas inthe past 4 years, fining people the equiva-lent of US$20 if they are caught smoking onsmoke-free pavements.

PAKISTAN: MORE GIRLS SMOKINGIt is distressing how often studies of girl’ssmoking rates in countries previouslyprotected by cultural and religious factorsare finding results well on the way tocatching up males of comparable age. Justa decade or two ago it was still assumedby most people in Pakistan that it was noteven worth trying to measure schoolgirls’smoking as it was negligible. However, asoften illustrated in this Journal, interna-tional tobacco companies, led by BritishAmerican Tobacco (BAT), have let loosethe might of their practically limitlesspromotional budgets in Pakistan, seekingto hook their next generation of regularsmokers—the youth market—knowingthat they could look forward to recruitingincreasing numbers of girls. Girls increas-ingly have joined the general youthmarket being exploited by multinationaland local companies, at least in the cities,where they have been exposed to promo-tions in the streets, discos and on televisedpop music shows.

So it is no surprise, though of greatconcern, that in a recent study of Karachisenior school girls with a mean age of 15years, some 16% had tried smoking and6.4% smoked at least once a month (Int JTuberc Lung Dis 2007;11:1366–71). This isaround half the rate of Pakistani boys andhigher than girls’ rates reported in 13 of 18Indian cities, as well as higher than inIndonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lankaand other south Asian countries coveredby the global youth tobacco survey. BAT’scorporate social responsibility propagandadoes not mention whether it is planningto underwrite the medical care andfuneral costs of all the extra femalepatients of smoking-induced disease inPakistan in the future.

EUROPE: AGREEMENT ON REDUCINGCIGARETTE FIRESOn 29 November 2007, European Union(EU) member states overwhelminglyendorsed plans to draw up proposals fora standard to combat the leading cause ofhome fire fatalities each year. It willrequire tobacco companies to sell onlyself-extinguishing (reduced ignitionpotential (RIP)) cigarettes. The decisionby member states in the General ProductSafety Directive committee will start theprocess of bringing the EU in line withmany other legislatures such as Canadaand the 22 US states that have imple-mented the American Society for Testingand Materials standard. The EuropeanCommission, the EU’s secretariat, willtake a formal decision on the mandatefor a standard early in 2008. Following thedecision, Arlene McCarthy, a member ofthe European parliament, stressed thatthis victory ‘‘would not have been possi-ble without the help of the campaignersand all the organisations that signed up tothe EU RIP Alliance’’.

In addition, because of concerns abouthow long it might take to develop aEuropean-wide standard, the UK govern-ment announced that it was committedto seeing fire-safer cigarettes as thestandard for all cigarettes, bought andsold, as quickly as possible. Although thestandard setting process was likely to takeseveral years, the government said itwould shortly be consulting on the

Japan: signs painted on the pavement surfaceremind walkers not to smoke in streets wheresmoking is prohibited.

Japan: targeting young women. A new brandbeing promoted in Japan by Philip Morris isNoire, which is clearly aimed at upwardlymobile and stylish young women. It uses blackand pink in an appealing Japanese design.Some commentators say the design aims toappeal to the ‘‘darker side’’ of its targetaudience, linking in with some of the culturalshifts and influences taking place in Japan.Noire packs come with an attractive attachmentresembling a designer make-up kit, which isactually a small receptacle for butts. Thisappeals to popular support for reducing streetlitter, a big issue in Japan. Pavements and otheroutdoor areas in cities where there are bans onpublic smoking in the streets are notably clean.

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