Global Smoking Rates Fall For First Time, But Rise For Kids, Africa – Report

Smoking rates have declined globally for the first time on record, according to a new report on tobacco use from a public health campaign group and U.S. academics.

However, the figures from the Tobacco Atlas report – described as a potential tipping point by the authors – also mask growing numbers of smokers in parts of the world, as well as increased tobacco use among young teenagers in almost half of the countries surveyed.

Globally, there are 1.1 billion smokers and 200 million more people who use other tobacco products, the report from Vital Strategies and the Tobacconomics team at the University of Illinois at Chicago found.

That represented a decline in smoking rates from 22.6 per cent of people in 2007 to 19.6 per cent in 2019, they said, the first since the report began in 2002.

However, population growth in Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific regions meant there were still increasing numbers of smokers in a number of areas, the report said. Moreover, prevalence is rising among adults in at least 10 countries in Africa, as well as among young people.

“The industry is still preying on emerging economies in ways that will lock in harms for a generation or more,” said Jeffrey Drope, public health professor at the University of Illinois and a report author.

Children were also being targeted in a number of countries, resulting in a rise in smoking among teenagers aged 13-15 in 63 of 135 countries surveyed, he said. Around 50 million in this age group, both boys and girls, now used tobacco products, he said, and the impact of new products like e-cigarettes and flavoured products was not yet fully understood.

Falling prevalence globally was a sign of the effectiveness of strong tobacco control measures, such as increased taxes, Drope added, but many lower-income countries did not have tough enough restrictions in place.

The data also shows tobacco use caused almost 8.7 million deaths worldwide in 2019, and approximately $2 trillion in economic damage. While more than half of the deaths are currently in high-income countries, this is expected to change if cigarette use continues to rise in lower-income areas.

The report also suggests that the tobacco industry is targeting black people in the United States with menthol cigarette promotion. The authors backed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s plan to ban their sale.

Source: REUTERS

DNT News

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FBI Uncover Secret Tunnel Linking Mexico To California Filled With $100,000,000 Worth of Cocaine

The FBI has discovered a secret underground drug-smuggling tunnel  linking California and Mexico. The tunnel, which is 1,774ft long had a rail track, ventilation and electricity and starts from Tijuana, Mexico, to  a warehouse in the Otay Mesa district of San Diego, California.

Following a surveillance operation by Federal agents, nearly two tonnes of cocaine with a street value of nearly $100 million have been recovered.

The tunnel was discovered by Federal agents who were spying on a house known to be used by a criminal gang where 61lbs of cocaine had previously been stashed.

Agents followed the alleged gang members Luz de Luna Olmos and Vanessa Ramirez from the home to a tool shop and then back and forth from the warehouse.

They were taken into custody along with Juan Cruz, Adrian Enriquez and Mario Jaramillo and were due to face court on Monday.

US Attorney Randy Grossman said: ”There is no more light at the end of this narco-tunnel. ‘We will take down every subterranean smuggling route we find to keep illicit drugs from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities.’

At least 90 drug tunnels have been discovered in the southern district of California since 1993, with the last one busted in March 2020.

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Canada To Ban Huawei/ZTE 5G Equipment, Joining Five Eyes Allies

Canada on Thursday said it plans to ban the use of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) and ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) 5G gear to protect national security, joining the rest of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

“We intend to exclude Huawei and ZTE from our 5G networks,” Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa. “Providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it under the plans we’re announcing today.”

Champagne added that companies will be required to remove their 5G gear by June, 2024, would not be reimbursed. Companies using their 4G equipment must be removed by the end of 2027.

The decision – widely expected – had been delayed amid diplomatic tensions with China. The rest of the Five Eyes network – which consists of Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand – has already banned the equipment.

In September 2018, Canada first announced it would review the possible threats to national security in adopting Huawei equipment.

Then in December of the same year, Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a U.S. warrant, creating a long-running dispute with China that finally ended last September with Meng’s release.

After Meng’s arrest, two Canadians were arrested by Beijing and accused of espionage. The two men were released the same day as Meng. read more

Now diplomatic tensions between China and Canada have eased somewhat. On Wednesday, China removed a three-year restriction on imports of Canadian canola seed, reversing what was considered a retaliatory move for Meng’s arrest. read more

Thursday’s decision comes after telecom companies in Canada already opted to use other companies’ 5G hardware.

China expressed opposition to this decision. “We will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese firms,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Friday.

A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Canada said the alleged security concerns were a “pretext for political manipulation” and accused Canada of working with the United States to suppress Chinese companies.

Alykhan Velshi, vice president of corporate affairs for Huawei in Canada, said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp that the company is still waiting to hear “what sort of national security threats they think Huawei poses”.

Velshi said that Huawei still has 1,500 employees in Canada, mostly in research and development, and sold products like mobile phones, and would continue to do so.

ZTE did not immediately responded to requests for comment.

In 2020, Bell Canada (BCE.TO) and rival Telus Corp (T.TO) – two of the biggest wireless providers – teamed up with Sweden’s Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Finland’s Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.HE) to build fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks, ditching Huawei for the project despite using Huawei 4G gear.

In addition to the ban, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Canada would draft new legislation to protect critical financial, telecommunications, energy and transport infrastructure from cyber threats.

Source: REUTERS

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