Smoking and tobacco: news and resources round up

Research has found that more than a third of smokers still believe that the health risks associated with smoking are "greatly exaggerated". The Department of health has responded with this hard-hitting campaign showing the direct link between smoking and cancer. As well as highlighting health risks to your students, this video could be a good starting point for a debate on the impact of advertising, too. The tobacco atlas of the world - map This fascinating data map, the tobacco atlas, published by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation, looks at key indicators of the tobacco industry from cigarette consumption to share of the total cigarette market by country. There's some analysis of the data here too. Why Zimbabwe's tobacco industry is unhappy with WHO For a different perspective on the smoking debate, take a look at this feature from the Guardian's Africa correspondent, David Smith. David looks at what the anti-smoking lobby means to farmers in Zimbabwe - a country heavily dependant on tobacco. Another interesting topic for debate. Plain packaging for cigarettes would help Britain kick its smoking habit In this blog post, health services minister, Dan Poulter, debates what needs to be done to prevent young people from taking up smoking. He feels young people are seduced by marketing techniques and feels a ban is the best way to reduce the numbers taking up smoking. What do your students think? Women who quit smoking before 30 cut risk of tobacco-related death by 97% Some stats to outline the health risks: Lancet study of more than 1m UK women shows death rate three time higher for those who smoke into middle-age. Smoking ban 'has reduced asthma and heart attacks' A news story that reports prohibition of smoking in pubs and restaurants appears to have encouraged people to try to cut down