ASH Daily News for 14/12/2001
HEADLINES
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ASH Daily News
14 December 2001
HEADLINES
Movies ‘turn kids to cigs’
Wide ranging anti-smoking measures passed in Irish Parliament
Question mark looms over Belgian Grand Prix
Adieu Monsieur Carlisle
Tobacco companies urge Xmas sales blitz
Full Text
Movies ‘turn kids to cigs’
One in three youngsters who watch films with lots of smoking scenes are likely to take up the habit themselves, a new survey has found. Movies glamorising smoking such as Pulp Fiction are the worst culprits, reports the British Medical Journal.
The study was carried out by Professor James Sargent of Dartford Medical School in Lebanon, USA.
Of 5,000 children, aged between nine and fifteen, just five percent tried cigarettes after viewing films with 50 or fewer shots with smoking. But that figure soared to 32% with 150 or more such scenes.
John Connolly of ASH said: “It suggests that smoking on screen nurtures and sustains the habit among teenage fans. Everyone should be worried about that.”
Source: The Mirror, 14 December 2001
Wide ranging anti-smoking measures passed in Irish Parliament
A wide ranging bill intended to stop “the addiction to smoking” was passed in the Dail last night.
The Public Health (Tobacco) Bill includes provisions to put cigarettes out of public view in shops , to ban in-store advertising by shopkeepers and all forms of sponsorship by the tobacco industry. All retailers of tobacco products will have to register and will face tough fines for selling to any under the legal age. Under the bill, only packs of 20 will be allowed to be sold and confectionery that looks like cigarettes will be banned.
The bill also requires cigarette manufacturers to detail the contents of their products and make full disclosure on toxicity and addiction.
Health Minister Michael Martin said cigarette smoking remained the leading cause of preventable illness in the country. Saying that most smokers recognise the dangers of the habit, he added: “Smoking is the most unhealthy thing a human can do. And about 30 percent of people here are addicted.”
Source: Irish Independent, 14 December 2001
Question mark looms over Belgian Grand Prix
Bernie Eccleston, commercial head of Formula One, is quoted in the papers questioning the inclusion of Belgium in the Formula One Grand Prix circuit after 2003. FIA, the regulation body for the Formula One, recently announced it’s commitment to ban tobacco sponsorship from the motor sport by 2006.
The Belgian Grand Prix could be axed by 2003 if the government imposes a national ban on tobacco advertising, according to Eccelston. “We will not necessarily hold a Belgian GP in 2003,” he said. “Belgium must adopt the same stance as the rest of Europe, where tobacco sponsorship is permitted till the end of 2006. We cannot make exceptions for certain organisers.
Source: The Independent, 14 December 2001
Adieu Monsieur Carlisle
The Tobacco Manufacturers Alliance is to lose its diligent public affairs director at the end of the month. Carlisle will now work as an independent political consultant, having joined the TMA in 1997 after serving in Parliament for 18 years. He will continue as ad hoc advisor to the TMA.
Source: PR Week, 14 December 2001
Tobacco companies urge Xmas sales blitz
The Off-License News reports that even though budgetary increases may be having an affect on cigarette sales, Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher are both reminding retailers that there is no better time than Christmas to maximise their profits by pushing premium brands - the general idea being that punters are more ready to cough up that little extra whilst partying with friends.
The companies advise retailers to be creative and urge customers to buy two or three packets at a time by telling them that the shops will be closed for Christmas. Gallaher’s communications manager Jeremy Blackburn says: “For example, an off-license retailer could offer a six-pack of beers and a packet of 20 Bensons for an all inclusive price.”
Off-License News, 7 December 2001
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