ASH Daily News for 31/10/2001
HEADLINES
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ASH Daily News
31 October 2001
Headlines
A chance to ban tobacco ads
Research suggests conception harmed by smoking
Support for Customs
Full Text
A chance to ban tobacco ads
A Lords Private Members Bill is to be heard in the upper chamber for the second time on Friday, 2 Novemeber 2001. It is expected that the debate on the bill will be wideranging.
Due to time constrictions, it is rare for a Private Members Bill to pass through all its legislative stages and become law, unless it has Government and support.
In a letter to the Times, leading medical charities summarise the case for banning tobacco advertising. The letter in the Times urges the government to back the Bill as part of its commitment to its 1997 manifesto pledges:
Sir, Since 1997, the Government has been promising — in two election manifestos and numerous public statements — to ban tobacco advertising. Smoking-related disease is Britain’s biggest preventable killer, causing 120,000 deaths per year. The Government’s own figures show that banning tobacco advertising could save 3,000 lives per year and save the NHS £40 million per year. Despite this, the legislation remains as far away as ever.
There is, however, now a chance to bring in a tobacco advertising ban, and it can be done without disrupting any of the Government’s other legislation. On Friday, the House of Lords is debating a Private Member’s Bill to ban tobacco advertising. However, it will not become law unless the Government supports it.
There is no point in pumping cash into the NHS if you allow tobacco companies to fill the cancer, respiratory and cardiac wards by promoting smoking. It is not often that ministers have the chance to do something that will make a major difference to health, be popular with the public and cost almost nothing. Mr Alan Milburn should act now to meet his Government’s long-standing commitment and give the Bill wholehearted support.
Yours sincerely,
GEORGE ALBERTI.
President, Royal College of Physicians,
MARK BRITTON,
Chair of Trustees, British Lung Foundation,
CHARLES GEORGE.
Medical Director, British Heart Foundation,
GORDON McVIE,
Director General, The Cancer Research Campaign,
PAUL NURSE,
Director General, Imperial Cancer Research Fund,
11 St Andrews Place, NW1 4LE.
October 30.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,59-2001375156,00.html
Source: The Times, 31 October 2001
Research suggests conception harmed by smoking
Women who smoke take, on average, up to two months longer to conceive than non-smokers, an investigation into the link between cigarettes and fertility has shown.
The research, by scientists at Oxford University, also found that women who gave up smoking for a year regained their full fertility and had just as much chance of conceiving as women who had never smoked.
The study, published today in the Journal of Biosocial Sciences, involved interviewing 569 women with newborn babies about their smoking history, including 114 who said they had smoked regularly in the year before becoming pregnant.
The study showed the long term effects of smoking on fertility could be due to smoke containing anti-oestrogenic substances, which suppress ovulation. Marcus Munafo, from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund’s general practice group at Oxford said the findings went further in explaining the role played by smoking and ill health during pregnancy. “The risk of smoking during pregnancy are well documented. But women may not be aware that by quitting, they are also greatly improving their chances of getting pregnant in the first place,” Dr Munafo said.
Source: The Independent, Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sun, 31 October 2001
Support for Customs
Recently the European Commission has taken steps that threaten legal action against HM Customs for its handling of travellers suspected of smuggling alcohol and tobacco.EC guidelines state that there is no limit to how much duty free goods travellers may bring in as long as these are for personal consumption and not commercial gain. HM Customs stands accused of applying EC guidelines too stringently.
Now, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has thrown its weight behind HM Customs reports the Grocer. ACS chief executive Trevor Dixon said: “Customs have to be tough because they are fighting a battle against organised, hardened criminals importing into the UK’s massive black market.
“It is extremely difficult to define what goods are for personal consumption and which are likely to enter the black market.”
The ACS wants the government to address the disparity in duty rates between the UK and other European countries.
Source: The Grocer, 27 October 2001
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