ASH Daily News for 03/12/2003
HEADLINES
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Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
3 December 2003
HEADLINES
27% of pregnant Scots smoke
Hospitals and smokefree policies
'Tis the season to smoke at parties
Smoke alarm
If at first you fail, don't try it again - ever.
FULL TEXT
27% of pregnant Scots smoke
More than a quarter of Scottish mothers are putting the lives of their
unborn babies at risk by smoking during pregnancy.
Figures released yesterday show that 27.4 per cent of women smoked at
their start of their pregnancy, with this increasing to 37.8 per cent in
the most deprived areas.
The smoking rates for pregnant women are among the worst in Europe,
increasing the risk of premature births or smaller babies. Babies with a
low birth weight are more at risk of death and disease in infancy and
early childhood.
The rates for smoking during pregnancy fall short of the Scottish
Executive's target to reduce the number of pregnant women who smoke to
23 per cent by 2005 and to 20 per cent by 2010.
The figures were contained in a report gauging the state of the nation's
health, which also looked at obesity and breastfeeding. Not only did
Scotland have one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe but
more than a fifth of three-and-a-half-year-olds were overweight, 8.8 per
cent were obese and 4.5 per cent were severely obese.
Dr Mac Armstrong, the chief medical officer, said yesterday that the
report was not so-much a wake-up call but more of an "alarm bell which
every single one of us should heed".
Full article:
http://www.news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1323912003
Source: The Scotsman, 3 December 2003
Hospitals and smokefree policies
The Health Development Agency's chairperson, Yve Buckland writes in the
Think Tank column in today's Society Guardian on why the NHS should lead
the way towards a ban on smoking in public places.
Highlighting the little known fact that only a handful of hospitals have
adopted a completely smokefree policy, she expresses disappointment that
the NHS house is not yet in good order on this matter.
Full article:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,7843,1097992,00.ht
ml
Source: The Guardian, 3 December 2003
'Tis the season to smoke at parties
The BBC Online reports that as the festive season gears up, many a
party-goer who professes to be a non-smoker will light up. But are these
so-called social smokers kidding themselves about their habit?
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3253016.stm
Source: BBC Online, 2 December 2003
Smoke alarm
Mr Harry Leeming from Lancashire, a retired electronics repairman with
50 years experience, writes in to the Telegraph making a rather
unconventional case for banning smoking in public places...
"Sir - I am now retired after spending 50 years repairing electronic
equipment ranging from tape recorders and televisions to radio
transmitters. About a third of my work during that time was obtained
undoing the damage caused by smoking.
Switches, relays, contacts, controls, tuned circuits, crimped joints and
many other parts suffer from the ingress of nicotine. In some cases, the
yellow layer is so thick that it is necessary to spray the equipment
with cleaner before parts can be identified, and faults traced.
After seeing the damage done to equipment, I prohibited smoking in my
own shop many years ago."
Source: Daily Telegraph, 3 December 2003
If at first you fail, don't try it again - ever.
Ipswich smuggler Timm Burger is today behind bars after his second
failed attempt to beat UK customs law. Ipswich Crown Court heard the
43-year-old had already served nearly two years in prison for previously
smuggling contraband.
Judge Peter Thompson had no hesitation in sending him back to jail after
he failed to learn his lesson.
He said: "No doubt the [Maidstone] judge hoped you would see sense and
not attempt this type of thing again In fact you didn't see sense, you
tried it on again and you were caught. A prison sentence is appropriate
in your case."
Burger, of Gatacre Road, Ipswich, admitted evading customs duty on more
than 8,000 cigarettes, 2,000 cigars, nearly 4kg of rolling tobacco,
nearly 200l of beer, more than 200l of wine and about 100l of spirits.
Source: Evening Star, 3 December 2003
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Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
3 December 2003
HEADLINES
27% of pregnant Scots smoke
Hospitals and smokefree policies
'Tis the season to smoke at parties
Smoke alarm
If at first you fail, don't try it again - ever.
FULL TEXT
27% of pregnant Scots smoke
More than a quarter of Scottish mothers are putting the lives of their
unborn babies at risk by smoking during pregnancy.
Figures released yesterday show that 27.4 per cent of women smoked at
their start of their pregnancy, with this increasing to 37.8 per cent in
the most deprived areas.
The smoking rates for pregnant women are among the worst in Europe,
increasing the risk of premature births or smaller babies. Babies with a
low birth weight are more at risk of death and disease in infancy and
early childhood.
The rates for smoking during pregnancy fall short of the Scottish
Executive's target to reduce the number of pregnant women who smoke to
23 per cent by 2005 and to 20 per cent by 2010.
The figures were contained in a report gauging the state of the nation's
health, which also looked at obesity and breastfeeding. Not only did
Scotland have one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe but
more than a fifth of three-and-a-half-year-olds were overweight, 8.8 per
cent were obese and 4.5 per cent were severely obese.
Dr Mac Armstrong, the chief medical officer, said yesterday that the
report was not so-much a wake-up call but more of an "alarm bell which
every single one of us should heed".
Full article:
http://www.news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1323912003
Source: The Scotsman, 3 December 2003
Hospitals and smokefree policies
The Health Development Agency's chairperson, Yve Buckland writes in the
Think Tank column in today's Society Guardian on why the NHS should lead
the way towards a ban on smoking in public places.
Highlighting the little known fact that only a handful of hospitals have
adopted a completely smokefree policy, she expresses disappointment that
the NHS house is not yet in good order on this matter.
Full article:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,7843,1097992,00.ht
ml
Source: The Guardian, 3 December 2003
'Tis the season to smoke at parties
The BBC Online reports that as the festive season gears up, many a
party-goer who professes to be a non-smoker will light up. But are these
so-called social smokers kidding themselves about their habit?
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3253016.stm
Source: BBC Online, 2 December 2003
Smoke alarm
Mr Harry Leeming from Lancashire, a retired electronics repairman with
50 years experience, writes in to the Telegraph making a rather
unconventional case for banning smoking in public places...
"Sir - I am now retired after spending 50 years repairing electronic
equipment ranging from tape recorders and televisions to radio
transmitters. About a third of my work during that time was obtained
undoing the damage caused by smoking.
Switches, relays, contacts, controls, tuned circuits, crimped joints and
many other parts suffer from the ingress of nicotine. In some cases, the
yellow layer is so thick that it is necessary to spray the equipment
with cleaner before parts can be identified, and faults traced.
After seeing the damage done to equipment, I prohibited smoking in my
own shop many years ago."
Source: Daily Telegraph, 3 December 2003
If at first you fail, don't try it again - ever.
Ipswich smuggler Timm Burger is today behind bars after his second
failed attempt to beat UK customs law. Ipswich Crown Court heard the
43-year-old had already served nearly two years in prison for previously
smuggling contraband.
Judge Peter Thompson had no hesitation in sending him back to jail after
he failed to learn his lesson.
He said: "No doubt the [Maidstone] judge hoped you would see sense and
not attempt this type of thing again In fact you didn't see sense, you
tried it on again and you were caught. A prison sentence is appropriate
in your case."
Burger, of Gatacre Road, Ipswich, admitted evading customs duty on more
than 8,000 cigarettes, 2,000 cigars, nearly 4kg of rolling tobacco,
nearly 200l of beer, more than 200l of wine and about 100l of spirits.
Source: Evening Star, 3 December 2003
----------------------------------
Unsubscribe:
Public subscribers: http://www.ash.org.uk/?unsubscribe
Globalink members: http://member.globalink.org
----------------------------------
