Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death

Papua New Guinea will join the rest of the world to mark the World No Tobacco Day on Sunday May 31.

The National Department of Health and the World Health Organisation and partner agencies observed the day today with various activities be staged at Tabari Place Boroko in Port Moresby.

The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2009 is ‘Tobacco Health Warnings’ with an emphasis on the picture warnings that have been shown to be particularly effective at making people aware of the health risks of tobacco use and convincing them to quit.

 More than five million people die from the effects of tobacco every year-more than from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

It is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as the manufacturer intends.

Up to half of all smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease.

Second hand smoke harms everyone who is exposed to it.

Tobacco companies spend tens of million of dollars every year turning new users into addicts and keeping current users from quitting.

Through advertising and promotional campaigns, including the use of carefully-crafted package designs, the tobacco industry continues to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products.

More and more countries are fighting back against the epidemic of tobacco by requiring that packages of tobacco show the dangers of the product’s use, as called for in guidelines to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

They use the MPOWER technical assistance package developed by WHO to help meet their commitments under this international treaty.

Effective health warnings, especially those that include pictures, have been proven to motivate users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco for those who are not yet addicted.

 Despite the fact, nine out of 10 people live in countries that do not require warnings with pictures on tobacco packages.

Nicotine is a highly-addictive substance.

Warning people about its true risk can go along way towards reducing tobacco addiction. Requiring warnings on tobacco packages is a simple, cheap and effective strategy that can vastly reduce tobacco use and save lives.

 

Papua New (s) Guinea Blog

Ilya Gridnef, the intrepid Australian Associated Press man in Port Moresby, has set up his blog called Papua News Guinea (http://aappng.blogspot.com/).

“I cover PNG and the Solomon Islands,” Ilya says.

“Hopefully this blog can help those interested in these areas.”

Have a look…

 

Your favourite daily is No 1 - by a long way

THE National has again surpassed the 30,000 copies mark in the first quarter of the year and, in doing so, distanced itself further from the other daily newspaper, Post-Courier.

According to the internationally-recognised Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), which audits both newspapers, the circulation of The National during the January-March period of this year averaged 30,439 copies, while the Post-Courier was about 30% less at 21,352 (9,087 fewer).

In the previous quarter, The National’s average circulation was 27,765, compared to the Post-Courier’s 20,636 (7,129 copies or 25.6% less).

The ABC report, released two weeks ago, confirms that The National not only remains the number one selling newspaper in PNG for the past year and a half, but is likely to grow further.

For the January-March period of 2008, The National averaged 26,450 copies.

In the second and third quarters, it increased to 28,167 and 30,053 respectively.

In the last quarter, circulation went down to 27,765 as expected due to the holiday season before increasing to more than 30,000 in the first three months of this year.

The Post-Courier fared differently.

From 25,799 copies for the first quarter of last year, Post-Courier dropped to 24,140 (second quarter), 23,139 (third quarter), 20,636 (fourth quarter) before finally picking up about 700 copies in the first quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, after some initial delays, work on a new building to house a bigger printing press at The National’s headquarters in Port Moresby is progressing smoothly.

The new press will provide for a bigger print run with more colour pages to meet the newspaper’s growing circulation and demand of advertisers.

A similar press will also be installed in the company’s second printing plant in Lae, which caters mainly for the northern region.

Both presses are expected to be in operation in a few months’ time.

The National will also be setting up at least two new offices this year and expanding others to improve coverage.

Recently, veteran journalist Oseah Philemon was recruited for the Lae regional office to head editorial operations in the northern region.

South Korean government invests in agro-tourism project in Morobe

NARI director-general Dr Raghunath Ghodake (left) and team leader of Korean investor and professor of Kangwon National University Dr Jeon Un-Seong signing the agreement at NARI Head Office in Lae last Friday. Picture by SENIORL ANZU


By SENIORL ANZU of National Agriculture Research Institute

The South Korean Government will invest a total of US$58, 900 in a new village movement concept, focusing on agricultural and eco-tourism development which will be trialed at Gabensis village in the Huon district of Morobe province.
The pilot project will include the production and processing of yam and construction of a yam-based tourism facility known as Saemaul Eco-Lodge.
Last Friday, a memorandum of agreement was signed between South Korea’s University-Industry Cooperation Foundation (UICF) of Kangwon National University and PNG’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) to pave way for this collaborative initiative.
UICF is a new research and cooperation organisation of the Kangwon National University, which has served to develop university-industry in the world.
With funds from central and local governments in South Korea, UICF’s objective is to contribute to the development of rural communities in domestic and foreign countries through various researches and professional consulting for improving agricultural technologies, residential environment and reforming social structure.
The university had proposed to NARI early this year to pilot the concept in PNG and Gabensis was chosen.
Last week, three Korean professors were in Morobe, inspecting NARI research facilities at Bubia and discussing with local scientists.
They also visited Gabensis, talking to farmers and identifying suitable sites where the one-year project will be conducted.
In signing the MOA on behalf of NARI, director general Dr Raghunath Ghodake told the South Koreans investors that yam was a traditional crop in PNG with huge potential for development.
“Yam is grown widely in PNG mostly for raw consumption,” he said.
“There is no processing, no exporting but there is big potential for development”.
He said that NARI had expertise in yam agronomy and economics and would be willing to collaborate and work together to assist farmers in adding value to the crop and getting it to markets.
He also suggested for the processing technology to be done on other crops such as taro, cassava and kaukau.
South Korean spokesperson Prof Cheol Ho Park expressed satisfaction on cooperation and willingness by both NARI and Gabensis villagers and hoped that the pilot project would be successful.
“This is a community-based cooperation,” he said.
“It is a pioneer concept in university-industry research and consulting with a view to contribute to the development of rural communities.”
Team leader Prof Jeon Un-Seong said PNG had big potential in eco-tourism and Gabensis was an ideal site.
He said the village, food gardens, lake and other natural features in the locality provided
a good natural setting for tourism development and UICF was keen to invest and capture that potential, particularly from an agro-tourism perspective.
Under the agreement, the South Korean government through UICF would provide financial and technical support for the project, which includes the establishment of machinery for yam processing, training of NARI staff on the same and construction of the yam-based eco-lodge.

British collector rates Papua New Guinea stamps among world's best

A British stamp collector has rated Papua New Guinea postage stamps among the best in the world.

United Kingdom-based R.E.A Howard said recently in a letter to the PNG Philatelic Bureau that he began collecting PNG stamps in 1937.

“I have really enjoyed your issues from 1937 and I am only missing four stamps plus one stamp booklet. I must congratulate you on your new issue service, this compares with the very best, do keep it up,” he said.

The bureau’s February 2009 issue, which Mr Howard referred to, features the country’s different frog species and was a joint project between Post PNG and conservation organisation WWF.

The British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, said Mr Howard’s attraction to PNG stamps is not surprising.

“PNG stamps are amongst the most collectable in the world and with their vibrant colors and scenes depicting PNG life and the vast array of indigenous flora and fauna remain as popular today as this were in 1937,” he said.

Post PNG Ltd managing director, Peter Maiden, said the Post PNG philatelic bureau was established in 1959 as part of the Australian colonial administration’s Posts and Telegraphs Department and has a long and colorful history.

“One of the bureau’s early pioneers wrote about an American woman travelling to PNG from California in 1966 because she liked our stamps. And the bureau’s first big order came from the United Kingdom after it received a cheque of over £1000 from a Harry Allan, who sent another cheque with the same value three months later for another stamp collection,” he added.

Mr Maiden said thanks to the hard work put in by the bureau’s pioneers which has continued to this day by current staff, PNG stamps continue to be sold globally through agents based in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA.

Mr Howard has decided to pull the curtain down on his hobby and indicated PNG was one of the few countries he restricted his collecting to.

“Now that I am in my 86th year I have decided with regret that I must now give up stamp collecting. Over recent years I have restricted my collecting to just a few countries, included those in PNG,” he said.

A guy is 72 years old and loves to fish!

A guy is 72 years old and loves to fish.

He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say,

'Pick me up.'

He looked around and couldn't see any one.

He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say a gain,

'Pick me up.'

He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, 'Are you talking to me?'

The frog said, 'Yes, I'm talking to you.

Pick me up then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.

I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!'

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front pocket.

The frog said, 'What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said?? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.'

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said,

'Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog.'

With age comes wisdom.

 

PNG Eco-Forestry Forum targets 10, 000 trees planted by World Environment Day on June 5

PORT MORESBY: ENVIRONMENTAL and Conservation groups under the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum network are embarking on a massive tree planting drive with a target of 10,000  mangrove seedlings to be planted to commemorate World Environment Day on June 5.

The Motupore Islands Research Centre’s mangrove expert, marine biologist Thomas Manuawie, is heading the re-vegetation exercise to take place in three coastal villages of Gabagaba, Tubuseria and Tahira on June 5- 6.

“The theme for this year’s event 'Your Planet Needs You!-UNite to Combat Climate Change' reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark in December and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests,”  said Thomas Paka, EFF executive director

Mr Paka said the forum with various sponsors were taking the lead to promote this day amongst schools and local communities at various centres through the distribution of information kits on climate change issues to highlight the importance of environmental protection.

He said the theme called for community participation and action for local communities and citizens to take ownership of the fight against climate change.

He said climate change had become a primary concern with Papua New Guinea’s food, economic, cultural and biodiversity security at stake and coupled with the absence of/or slow progress of government policies to deal with these impacts, people need to be proactive.

 He called on the government to immediately put in place appropriate policies and strengthen the capacities of its relevant institutions both at the national and local levels to deal with the issue with urgency to avoid catastrophic impacts.

Growing trees is the simplest way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store them in trees (carbon sequestration).

As many costal communities are at the risk of rising sea level and its related impacts, the mangroves planting exercise should raise awareness and promote practical as mitigation actions to deal with the issues of climate change.

These efforts are also in line with the stated aims of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for 50% reduction of PNG’s carbon emission by 2020.

He is urging corporate entities, business houses, groups, communities and individuals to be part of this campaign either by either purchasing or sponsoring a mangrove plant for K2 each or supporting the event.

 

For more Information, contact the Forum on phone (675) 323 9050 or email: teff@global.net.pg. For media enquiries: Lydia Kaia, WWF ph: (675) 3200 149 email: lkaia@wwfpacific.org.pg