How to stop smoking? Start taking pills!!!!

The first quit-smoking pill, designed specifically to stop the urge to light up, has arrived in South Africa.

Unlike the anti-depressant pill Zyban, which has side-effects that helped smokers quit, Champix is the first pill designed specifically to stop the urge for nicotine.

Over a 12-week cycle, the pill removes the desire for a smoking "high" by blocking the part of the brain that is satisfied by the effect of smoking.

Clinical psychologist and founder of the Society for Research on Tobacco and Nicotine, Dr Karl Fagerstrom, warned smokers of the dangers of their addiction at a media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday.

"One of every two smokers will die early," he said, adding that the problem was "more important than HIV or malaria".

Six million people worldwide die from smoking every year. In South Africa 31% of men and 9% of women smoke at least one cigarette a day.

Fagerstrom said smokers added to healthcare costs and spent less time working.

"They take more time out of their job to smoke and that is also a cost."

He said banning smoking in public places reduced the number of smokers.

"On average 4% of smokers give up [because of the regulations] and those who continue to smoke, smoke less."

The main effect of the legislation, he said, was to "denormalise tobacco culture". (from TimesLive)

A short history of the coffee drug.

They probably don't realise it, but a number of world leaders might benefit from learning something of the history of coffee before speechifying on narcotics and the law. The "war on coffee" is far older than Nixon's War on Drugs, but it proved equally ineffectual. For centuries, coffee was the subject of bans, controls and tariffs, religious proscription and noisy vilification. But it always crept back, smuggled through the ports, black marketed, cut with acorns or ground broad beans. Centuries of history only see it becoming cheaper and ever more available despite all attempts to control it. (from the Guardian)

A Rondavel

That is all...

















No deaths.... Just a Rondavel

125 South African smokers die A DAY!!!

About 125 of the 23% of South Africans who smoke die from the habit every day, the National Council Against Smoking said. This means a total of 44,400 deaths a year, said the council in a statement.

Reducing the prevalence of smoking from the 23% to 5% in the next three decades was possible. "But it will require an intensification of the tobacco control campaign. "In particular, the government will have to look at its tobacco taxation policies which are in urgent need of revision."

Global action a top priority

According to leading medical journal The Lancet, an urgent global action to cut tobacco use should be the top priority of government.

This would assist in the fight to reduce deaths from chronic diseases such as strokes, heart attacks and cancer.

A global team of scientists had proposed that the United Nations (UN) should aim for "a world essentially free of tobacco by 2040, where less than 5% of people use tobacco".

This recommendation would be made to the first UN High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to be held in September 2011, The Lancet said.

The council said the meeting would provide the stage for powerful international action to develop, implement and fund actions against NCDs.

Every day, about 15,000 people die world-wide from diseases caused by tobacco.

"This rise is due to the tobacco industry's uncontrolled activities and persistent efforts to influence and weaken tobacco control policies," The Lancet said.

It added that key measures to prevent tobacco use were to raise tobacco taxes, place health warnings on tobacco packaging, smoke-free work and public places, a complete ban on all tobacco promotions, and control of illicit trade. (from News24)

South Africa's failed prohibition

The consequences of a policy, whether unintended or not, determine whether a policy has been successful or not. The South African government has adopted a one size fits all prohibitionist policy for "illicit" drugs and the results are in... We have a winner and the winner is.... Mitchells Plain. Well the children of Mitchells Plain to be more precise. The policy of prohibition has made drugs freely available to children. The policy of prohibition has resulted in all drugs being sold without regulation and freely on the street corners.... TO CHILDREN. This policy has produced the result of drugs being freely available to children - which is exactly what it set out to prevent.

Mitchells Plain: SA’s teen drug capital

DAGGA and tik remain the drugs of choice for school pupils in Mitchells Plain, with the most up-to-date research suggesting that dagga smoking in the area is so common that its prevalence is three times higher than the national average.

Worse still, the study revealed that substance abusers in Mitchells Plain were younger than their European counterparts, putting them at a much higher risk of developing drug dependency at an earlier age.

In addition, tik use was so prevalent in the area that its use now surpassed that of Ecstasy, cocaine and crack.

The study, conducted by Stellenbosch University and published in the SA Family Practice Journal, polled 400 pupils from 12 high schools in Mitchells Plain. It offers some of the most up-to-date statistics, pointing to an ever-growing problem.

Researchers found that at least 9 percent of all the pupils had used tik, while one in every 20 had used it during the previous year.

The prevalence for cannabis use was three times higher than the national prevalence rate of 10 percent, determined in 2007, the study showed.

But the statistics came as no surprise to those fighting drug abuse in the city.

The Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre’s Grant Jardine said that whenever drug use prevalence was studied in South Africa, Cape Town came out worst.

The new study also suggests that alcohol is the most common substance of choice among adolescents, with half of the pupils surveyed having consumed alcohol in their lifetime, and 34 percent having consumed it in the previous month.

The previous statistic reported for Cape Town was 31 percent.

Cigarette use was also highly prevalent, with more than double the number of pupils reporting having smoked cigarettes during their lifetime, when compared to pupils in the US and to South Africa as a whole.

The use of cannabis, for instance, was associated with the conversion of short-term memory into long term memory, cognitive impairment of comprehension and verbal recall, and mental illness – conditions that could lead to learning difficulties and ultimately to school dropouts.

“These potential learning difficulties apply to approximately 40 000 students in Mitchells Plain between the ages of 12 and 20 years, and may extrapolate into poor academic performance, school failure, school dropout, and a demand for additional learning resources,” said Hamdulay.

The use of illicit drugs was also associated with risky behaviour such as domestic abuse, risky sexual behaviour, carrying a knife and suicide attempts.

It was believed that cannabis was more popular in Mitchells Plain as it was easily available, inexpensive, easy to produce, and because the law prohibiting its use was not frequently enforced. (from IOL)

Cape Drug use at work soaring

An alarming number of companies in Cape Town are seeking help for employees who use - and in some cases even sell - drugs in the workplace.

The SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) in the Western Cape has reported that about 100 companies had approached it over the past three years.

And a local labour law firm says about half of the 1000 companies on its books reported an increase in drug use at work.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) says it has also noticed an alarming spike in the use of drugs at Cape Town businesses and has commissioned a study to gather figures and information about the extent of the problem in the Western Cape.

Nadine Harker-Burnhams, an MRC scientist in its alcohol and drug abuse research unit, is heading the unit’s two-year study into drug use and the workplace.

Harker-Burnhams, who is doing her doctoral thesis on the subject, said although several firms faced the dilemma of employee drug use, there were no official numbers and also no national guidelines for dealing with the problem. The problem was not confined to any specific sector or career, she said.

Tertius Cronje, Sanca’s corporate services director, said there was a “dangerous upswing” in the number of employees using drugs at work.

“More companies are asking for assistance. More employees are using drugs at work, and even selling them there, using the workplace as a marketplace.”

Peter Schultz, chairman of the SA Association of Social Workers in Private Practice, said he had worked with firms from six sectors that were dealing with employees who took and sold drugs at work. Schultz would not disclose the type of industries, but said they varied.

He said telltale signs of drug use were frequent bathroom breaks, frequent latecoming, unexplained ailments and generally erratic behaviour, where the employee seemed “out of control”.

Both organisations said senior managers were more likely to use tranquillisers or cocaine, call centre agents tended to use stimulants and employees in labour-intensive jobs favoured tik. Employees in the sales sector were more likely to drink at work, they said.

Cronje said: “You would seldom find managers using tik and employees in labour do not have the money for the more expensive drugs.”

The organisations said it was easier to detect when employees were smoking dagga or drinking at work, because these had distinct odours and the change in users’ behaviour was obvious.

Drugs such as tik, cocaine and heroin were harder to detect.

Schultz said people used drugs in bathrooms at work or, in the case of managers, in their own offices.

Harker-Burnham said employees would also use drugs during lunch breaks, or just before they got to the office each day. She said the food and retail sectors had reported a recent increase in dismissals relating to drug use at work. The industries would not disclose figures, she said.

The MRC had also noted that some referrals for patients admitted to treatment centres came from employers, Harker-Burnham said.

She said several factors led to people using drugs at work, including stress and working in high-risk environments, such as those involving hazardous chemicals.

Employees who felt they were receiving “little reward with high demand” were also more susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse, she said.

Her study is set to start in the next two months and will focus on measuring the extent of drug abuse in Western Cape workplaces, as well as testing “evidence-based” interventions.

Ironically, Schultz said, in the short-term, employees using drugs could seem more efficient and productive, but their performance would soon take a “nose-dive”.

Grant Jardine, from the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said companies had over the past three or four years become more aware of drug use in the workplace.

He said drug abuse was causing on-site accidents and contributed to high rates of absenteeism.

Advocate Lionel Harper, the head of the legal services department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, said that in most cases companies could not force employees to undergo drug tests. They would first have to get an employee’s permission and that of the union.

“The employee cannot be compelled to undergo the test but refusal can lead to a negative inference. I would advise a policy on this matter so that the employees and unions are in agreement… because (substance abuse) impacts on the productivity and operations of the company and they are a danger and safety hazard to the employees.”

- Cape Argus

Legalise Soft Drugs

A call has gone out in the South African Medical Journal for a review of the legality of psychoactive substances such as marijuana (dagga).

Professor JP van Niekerk, managing editor of the journal, said it was important for South Africa to reopen the debate about the criminalisation of these substances, and to reconsider its policies in light of the fact that war against drugs in South Africa had failed.

It was time to face reality, the professor added, and rationally debate the question of decriminalisation.

“It makes no sense to legalise the use of alcohol and tobacco, but not the less dangerous substances like marijuana,” Van Niekerk argued.

He said that by decriminalising drugs there could be better control, and that the country could gain revenue from it through taxation.

He argued further that the role of criminal drug dealers could be significantly reduced.

Van Niekerk believes that improved state control, as is the case with tobacco and alcohol, could also be applied in the control of drugs in South Africa.

The high prices of illegal drugs, he said, often forced those dependent on them into criminal activities, including drug peddling and robbery, to finance their addiction.

On the other hand, he added, one of the reasons many people stopped smoking was because the price of tobacco was increased.

Controlling prices in this way was one of the mechanisms that could be used to manage the problem.

Van Niekerk said the way in which the drug scourge was being “fought” was actually making the drugs more valuable, and was attracting more participants to the illicit drug economy.

If they were decriminalised, he argued, drugs could be better controlled and the money saved could be used for education about the harm caused by drugs, and for the rehabilitation of addicts.

Van Niekerk said that while the use of drugs may be a vice, it should not be considered a crime - so making criminals of a large proportion of South Africa’s population.

“It is easier for youngsters to buy drugs than it is for them to buy cigarettes, because they would be asked for their ages. If the same could be done with drugs, then that would mean more difficult access to them,” he said.

When asked whether he believed the idea would work in South Africa, Van Niekerk answered that he did.

He added that evidence showed that the country’s current policies to fight the war on drugs were not working, with more and more people accessing drugs.

A recent study done by the SA Medical Research Council on drug abuse in the Western Cape showed that alcohol was among the worst abused substances, with Khayelitsha singled out as the area of the province where it was most abused. (from IOL)

Man arrested with R19 million Cocaine

A man was caught with cocaine with an estimated street value of R19m in Beaufort West on Thursday, Western Cape police said.

Police stopped and searched a yellow Volvo bus near a garage in the town shortly after 02:00, Captain Frederick van Wyk said.

Police sniffer dogs found a black bag in the luggage compartment. When police asked for the owner of the bag, one man tried to run away.

He was arrested and asked to open the bag. Inside police found several kilograms of cocaine.

In a separate incident police recovered dagga with a street value of R60 000 after they stopped and searched a cream-coloured Toyota Cressida on Wednesday evening.

Two men, aged 26 and 26, were arrested when six bags of dagga weighing 60kg were found.

All three men were expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on Friday. (from News24)

Zuma confronts Mitchells Plain drugs saga

President Jacob Zuma has called for “concerted action” to deal with the abuse of alcohol and drugs in Mitchells Plain.

Zuma said in a speech at the Sultan Bahu Treatment Centre in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday that he was concerned that the abuse of alcohol and drugs was becoming a fashionable part of the lives of “some” children.

“Statistics indicate that the age of experimentation with drugs is nine years, which is way too disturbing,” Zuma said in the speech which was attended by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.

“We have seen in some communities that some children drink alcohol on their way to school.

“This calls for concerted action amongst all of us as parents and community members. We must work together to curb the spread of substance abuse in our communities.”

Zuma said the government had a duty to build recreational facilities and improve the quality of life for communities, so that poverty did not breed the “proliferation of drugs and the abuse of other substances”.

“We are pleased to note action being taken by communities and individuals to fight substance abuse and educate our children and families.

Zuma said he was concerned about the high numbers of pregnant women who were abusing alcohol on farms in the Western Cape and parts of the Northern Cape.

“The impact on the unborn child is devastating,” he said.

Zuma said most in-patient treatment centres were not accessible to majority of patients and were found mostly in the cities.

“We therefore must find a way of extending them to rural and informal settlements, especially in the light of rising demand for treatment services,” he said.

“However, the out-patient treatment services are also available, and have ensured that patients receive treatment while remaining in their communities and families.”

- Sapa

Intransigent shebeen owners may lose home

For years the city couple ran an illegal shebeen from their home, and the police raided them 52 times.

Then the National Director of Public Prosecutions decided that the only solution to the illicit trade was to seize their home, and won the subsequent court case.

But now the couple, who have two school-going children who live with them, are appealing the judgment to a full Bench at the Western Cape High Court in a bid to save what they say is their family home, their children’s inheritance and their livelihood. The couple, Hilda and Edward van der Burg, from Athlone, have been selling liquor illegally since 2001 and despite repeated raids by police, have continued doing so.

The State has argued that having the couple forfeit the house, which is located next to a school and a church, is the only way to stop them from selling the liquor.

The Van der Burgs had apparently applied for a liquor licence previously but this was not approved.

In the Western Cape High Court on Friday, their attorney, Gregory Derris, argued that because the couple had never been imprisoned and were only ever issued with fines, it had not been a strong enough deterrent to keep them from selling the liquor.

But Judge Jeanette Traverso interjected, saying: “These are grown-up people we’re talking about. They had warnings, they were convicted and sentenced. They’re not puppies that run around.

“Police conducted 52 operations against them. I’ve been around for 65 years and the police haven’t had any operations against me.”

Judge Chantal Fortuin also questioned whether the couple deserved to keep the house at all after their blatant disregard for the law.

“But there is a family home that is being conducted here as well,” said Derris.

“If the property is taken, it will affect the living arrangement of the entire family. This is not just a shebeen. It’s a family home, and that is better than living on the street.

“They haven’t simply shown a blatant disregard for the law, they have a hand-to-mouth existence.”

Geoff Budlender, for the National Director of Public Prosecutions, however, told the court that while the children may lose out on their inheritance, there were no indications that they may be left homeless, as the couple claimed they earned R2 000 a week from their vegetable stall.

He said it was necessary for the court to send out the message that if you conduct illegal business from your home, your house could be seized.

“These are people who are living in a shebeen, not a shebeen being run from a home,” said Budlender, adding that the business was “popular”, “successful” and “substantial”. “Their attitude to crime has been: “I can continue carrying on with the crime as long as I pay a fine.”

“Forfeiture is the only means available to the law for ending this scenario.” (from IOL)

You have to wonder about the supply side of the equation. Where is the shebeen getting its booze from? Solve that problem and the shebeen would stay closed when the police close it down.

All night drinking

The club, whose flagship venue is the Radisson Gautrain hotel, in Sandton, Johannesburg, is the playground of the ''black diamond"set and has become known for its extravagance and excess.

Kenny Kunene, owner of ZAR, booked a huge space at the Waterfront Studios, in the Cape Town Film Precinct, turning it into the kind of instant gratification experience Richie Rich would enjoy, if he were black. The now trademark bikini-clad girl with sushi draped on her body was there, lying on the bonnet of an overpriced sports car, with movers and shakers all enjoying copious amounts of the finest whiskies and wines (complimentary at the VVIP and VIP bars) money can buy.

Kunene himself, resplendent in a bling red jacket and matching glitzy shades, was playing the affable host, hugging and greeting all and sundry.

Naturally, gatherings like this are not without controversy, and this was provided by ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, who in his speech said:

"Helen Zille will not close ZAR at 2am, like she does to other clubs in Cape Town. The ANC owns ZAR and we will party until the morning".

- Timeslive

R1.1m drug bust in Beaufort West

A police search of three buses in Beaufort West netted cocaine and khat with a street value of almost R1.1 million on Friday.

A black bag containing about 1.1kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of R923,000 was found in the luggage compartment of a Volvo bus when sniffer dogs searched the luggage compartment around 6am, Western Cape police spokeswoman Bernadine Steyn said.

Three suitcases and three sport bags containing 1382 bundles of khat with an estimated street value of about R138,200 were found in the luggage compartment of a white Mercedes bus.

On a third bus, a yellow Volvo, 379 bundles of khat with an estimated street value of about R37,900 were found in two bags. A woman was questioned in connection with these bundles, but was later released.

No arrests were made in connection with the cocaine or the 1382 bundles of khat.

All the buses were going from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

Last Thursday cocaine worth about R19 million was found on another bus driving through the town. (from TimesLive)

More death from above