ASH Daily News for 13 August 2008

200 drivers hit by cigarette butt fines

Almost 200 drivers who tossed cigarette butts from their cars have been hit by hefty fines in a trial scheme set to spread across Birmingham. The money-spinning fines have already raked in £12,825 for the city council from the pilot crackdown on the city-bound section of Erdington’s Tyburn Road in north Birmingham. A total of 171 city motorists have been hit by £75 fines for throwing cigarette ends out of car windows in the month-long blitz, sparking fury from pro-smoking campaigners.

Now the scheme targeting fag-flinging motorists will be rolled out across the city. A Public Protection department spokesman said: “The current pilot campaign to use roadside signs on main arterial roads is just one of a range of strategies being used to hammer home the message that litter is not a trivial problem. Effective street cleansing and enforcement, for example through the issuing of fixed penalty notices (£75, or £50 for early payment) are key elements in dealing with the problem. A third critical element is continuing to raise awareness of the problems caused by litter and promoting responsible attitudes.”

Tyburn councillor Lynda Clinton, whose ward includes Tyburn Road, said: “I welcome anything that reduces litter in the local area and I think these efforts should be supported. But I would hope that any money that is generated should directly benefit the area and should be ploughed back into improving the local environment where the fines are issued. If it is going to hit litter droppers properly then it is a step forward, but I hope the same sort of effort and thought can be ploughed into safety issues on the same road."

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 council wardens were given powers to issue fixed penalty notices of between £50 and £80 The average fine is £75 and traffic wardens, police community support officers and park wardens usually issue the tickets. The council spokeswoman added: “The City Council undertakes a range of activities across the city with the aim of raising awareness around litter.”

But smokers’ group Forest today condemned enforcement of the scheme as a waste of taxpayers money which could be better spent elsewhere. Neil Raferty, spokesman for pro-smoking group Forest, said: “I think it is a disgusting waste of money because they presumably use officers to take pictures or to stand at the roadside to enforce this. “People are under real pressure at the moment and the council should be showing more respect when it uses taxpayers money. I hope the people of Birmingham are angry about this. The council will say it’s all about cleanliness, but it’s about making money. They should be ashamed of themselves, it’s a classic case of a local authority jumping on the anti-smoking bandwagon.”

Source: Birmingham Mail, 11 August 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/Gwgzj 

USA: Rochester-area teens protest tobacco targeting

More than 20 teenagers from the Rochester area took over the two north corners of Exchange Boulevard and Main Street in downtown Rochester around lunchtime Monday, chanting anti-tobacco messages. "Beep, beep, bop, bop, targeting teens has got to stop," yelled the group of teens, who are part of Reality Check, a youth-led action program against tobacco companies sponsored through the New York State Department of Health.

The demonstration Monday, which included teenagers from six surrounding counties, was a "spontaneous day of action," said Monroe County Reality Check coordinator David Walling, adding that the goal for Monday was to be out for about an hour while people were walking to lunch and inform them about the tobacco companies' practice to target teens. The Reality Check youths were holding up sings, getting people to sign petitions and handing out informational flyers.

Nakiya Peterkin, 15, of Greece Athena High School said she hopes that tobacco companies stop targeting teens, especially through movies. "Some of their favorite actors and actresses smoke in movies that are not rated R," Peterkin said about teens being influenced by Hollywood's depiction of smoking. "Then they might think: 'I can be famous or popular if I smoke.'" Many of the signs the Reality Check teens had Monday were calling for the movie industry to rate movies that show people smoking. Walling said he hopes to have demonstrations like the one Monday at locations throughout the city and surrounding counties.

Source: DemocratandChronicle.com, 12 August 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/Xo966

Australia: Young smokers trade graphic cigarette packet images

Graphic photos on cigarette packets have become trading cards among Geelong's smoking youth as a new study trumpets the success of the shock tactics. The anti-smoking images, which include rotting teeth and lung cancer, have sparked young smokers to discuss quitting, according to the Cancer Council Victoria study. The 4000 students surveyed for the study had also adopted "a less positive image" of smoking since the introduction of the graphic warning labels in early 2006.

But Geelong's smokers reported unanimous nonchalance toward the images as the Geelong Advertiser took to the streets yesterday. Glen Benton, 16, said his group of friends tried to collect the whole set of pictures. "We use them as trading cards," he said. "If you cut out the picture of the rotten mouth you can stick it over your own teeth, it's a good joke." Service station cashiers in Norlane and Corio, who preferred not to be named, confirmed young smokers often asked for packs with specific images.

Richard Lethbridge, 16, said he "didn't even notice the photos" while 20-year-old Jaala Ruck said she kept her cigarettes in a tin and was immune to the message. "I knew what was going to happen to me (from smoking) it's not telling me anything I didn't know," Mr Lethbridge said. Jessica Couzens, 22, acknowledged a negative impact in the first months of the campaign but said the effect had long since worn off. "If you've seen one you've seen them all," she said.

The Cancer Council study surveyed students in the months before and after the introduction of the graphic warning sign in the first test of the campaign's effectiveness. The study also showed that 77 per cent of the students had seen cigarette packets and 88 per cent of those had seen the warning labels within the first six months of the campaign; and students in the follow-up survey thought and talked about warning labels more frequently.

Quit director Fiona Sharkie said the success of the graphic health warnings highlighted the packs' ability to communicate with the customer. "Young people remain the crucial market for a tobacco industry looking to addict new customers the positive impact of graphic health warnings in making smoking less appealing simply cannot be overstated," she said.

Source: Geelong Advertiser, 13 August 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/WFllX 

Latvia: New smoking restrictions to be introduced in 2010

Following the examples of its EU peers, the health ministry of Latvia last week confirmed that new smoking restrictions will be introduced in the country as of April 1, 2010. Starting from spring 2010, complete smoking ban will be introduced in all indoor public catering places in Latvia; in outdoor cafes it will only be allowed to smoke in specially designated areas. Also in casinos and gambling halls the smoking will only be permitted in separate rooms or areas, designated for smoking. These restrictions are stated in the amendments to the law on sales, advertising and use of tobacco products. As of 2010, it will be forbidden to smoke in all means of public transport and taxis, except for long-haul trains and cruise ships, on which it will be permitted to have separate coaches or cabins for smokers. Advertising of tobacco products will only be allowed in special publications, meant for the use of tobacco merchants for selling tobacco products, as well as in magazines and newspapers, published outside European Union member countries and not meant for the European Union market.

Source: New Europe, 04 August 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/DjSxf

Indonesia: Commission seeks MUI support to ban underage smoking

Smoking should be declared haram (unlawful in Islam) to protect children from its harmful effects, the National Commission for Child Protection has told the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). "Changing the old paradigm, which regards smoking as a normal thing, must be supported by all elements of society, including the faith community," commission chairman Seto Mulyadi said on the sidelines of a meeting with MUI leaders Tuesday. "Look at how we can still see many parents smoking freely right next to their babies. This has to change," he said.

Seto said by declaring smoking as haram, the MUI would help the emergence of a new paradigm and attitude that smoking is bad for people's health. "We agree that smoking by children should be prohibited because it is damaging their future," said Amidhan, an MUI leaders present at the Tuesday meeting. "Parents, families, teachers and all adults around children, including the tobacco industry, must be aware of this prohibition. Advertisements targeting children as their customers should be limited," said Amidhan. "However, to turn that stance into a fatwa (decree) we need to bring the discussion in the Ijtima' Ulama assembly, which will be held at the end of this year in West Sumatra," Amidhan said.

The Ijtima' Ulama assembly is a gathering of MUI's fatwa commissions nationwide, which discuss and decide on new fatwa. According to Amidhan, since June, regional MUI leaders in Sumatra had taken the stance that smoking was haram. "Five years ago, MUI declared smoking as makhruh (improper but not forbidden)," Amidhan said. MUI chairman Cholil Ridwan said smoking had been declared as absolutely haram in Saudi Arabia since the 1970s.

Cholil acknowledged there were still difference positions toward smoking among the MUI clerics. "Although some Muslim clerics here have individually banned smoking in their pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), like in Gontor, many others still allow smoking too." Under the 2002 Child Protection Law, those less than 18 years old are considered children. The National Economy Survey in 2004 showed 26.8 percent of teenagers between 13 and 15 years of age smoked. The survey also found that children were taking up smoking earlier, between the ages of five and nine.

A 2007 study by the school of health sciences at the Hamka Muhammadiyah University shows 99.7 percent of teenagers in Jakarta see cigarette advertisements on TV, 86.7 percent see cigarette ads in public spaces and 81 percent attend activities sponsored by the tobacco industry. The research also found cigarette advertising, sponsorships and promotions portraying smoking as cool motivate the young to start smoking, to keep smoking and to return to smoking after quitting. According to the Indonesian Public Health Association, there are 4,000 hazardous chemical substances in a cigarette, 69 of which are carcinogenic.

Source: The Jakarta Post, 13 August 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/wcT2g