ASH Daily News for 13/10/2003
HEADLINES
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ASH Daily News
11-13 October 2003
HEADLINES
FULL TEXT
£17,000 for asthmatic whose boss refused to stop smoking
An asthmatic has been awarded £17,000 compensation against a former employer who failed to stop smoking in her presence. The ruling could have wide-ranging implications for companies across Britain.
Karen Whitehead, 34, worked at the Granby Island Community Centre in Plymouth for only 45 days, but because she was registered disabled she was entitled to sue for unfair dismissal after being sacked for taking 16 days off sick.
An employment tribunal in Plymouth was told that during an appraisal she told her boss about her problem with the smoky environment only to have him light up twice in front of her.
Miss Whitehead said she became ill in her first week while working as an administrator in a room where smoking was allowed. She complained to the community centre's development manager, Sam Swabey, and was moved to the no-smoking reception area. But the centre failed to enforce the no-smoking rule.
Amanda Sandford, spokeswoman for the anti-smoking group ASH, said: "It's shocking that people still have to breathe in tobacco smoking when we know so much about the dangers," adding that the decision would have "significant implications for others in similar situations."
Full Times article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-2-849486,00.html
Source: The Times, Daily Mirror, Daily Express, 11 October 2003
Philip Morris using 'health adverts as PR'
The Observer reports on the a new drive that will see cigarette packets carrying a leaflet warning of the dangers of smoking that has sparked a row between a leading tobacco company and health campaigners.
Philip Morris International, the tobacco giant behind the Marlboro brand, will next week be placing 'onserts' on the side of some of its packets. These will be folded leaflets containing details about the dangers of smoking, its addictive nature and warnings that lower tart cigarettes are not necessarily safer. They will be in addition to health warnings that are now a legal requirement on all packets of cigarette packs.
But the move has been met with derision from anti-smoking groups. Rather than welcoming a campaign that would ostensibly echo their own message, they have accused Philip Morris of the message to 'spin' its own corporate image in the advent of last February's and on tobacco advertising.
"Philip Morris is using this campaign to try and tell consumers that it cares, that this is a company that is looking out for you and you can trust. In reality these adverts have been created to increase their market share," said Deborah Arnott, director of ASH.
"The tobacco firms spend huge amounts of money researching these types of schemes, and it would be naïve to think they were doing this purely in the public interest. Now that advertising cigarette brands has been made illegal in the UK, promoting the corporate image is the way that they seek to improve their sales. It allows them to keep their name and their product , if not the brand, in front of consumers,' Arnott added.
A spokesman for Philip Morris yesterday describes ASH's criticism as 'misplaced'.
Source: The Observer, 12 October 2003
Smokers should heed not hide warnings
Tobacconists across the country have experienced a surprising rise in demand for the cases, with some suppliers tripling their sales over the past 10 months. The demand has been prompted by the introduction in January of large black-bordered messages on cigarette packets delivering the warnings that "Smoking Kills" and "Smokers Die Younger". The warnings must cover 30 per cent of the front of the packet and 40 per cent of the back, according to a European Union directive.
The EU has further plans to introduce photographic warnings showing diseased lungs and mouths from next October, which retailers say will further fuel demand for the cases.
Buying a cigarette case is just one of the many inventive ways smokers are attempting to hide the health warnings. Another is to cover them with stickers emblazoned with slogans such as "You could be hit by a bus tomorrow" and "Smoking is cool".
A spokesman for Ash, the anti-smoking charity, called the increase in case sales an interesting development. "Clearly the health warnings are having an impact because people can't help but notice them," he added.
"They are very stark and very 'in your face' and so effective that people are worried about them. Smokers who hide their cigarettes in a case are obviously still in denial and not wanting to face up to the harsh realities of smoking. In time they will."
Source: Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2003
Unfit Britons told to take exercise by Blair
Tony Blair has admitted privately that Labour's efforts to boost the number of people taking up sport have failed and he has instructed Ministers to prepare an ambitious 'interventionist' fitness strategy linked to the Olympics bid.
The biggest-ever initiative to turn Britain into a nation that enjoys exercise will begin in the new year, with a £1 million publicity campaign showing how gardening, walking to work and even housework can help to make you fit.
Number 10 is convinced it must act decisively amid mounting evidence that the obesity epidemic among children and young adults will leave a massive health bill from diabetes and heart disease within 15 years.
In a letter to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a copy of which has been leaked to The Observer, Blair spells out what he sees as the Government's failure to promote exercise: 'Government policy has not delivered the outcomes we want in this area,' he writes. 'We have started to make progress on the school sport agenda, but also need to more effectively tackle activity levels in the adult population.'
Full article:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1061376,00.html
Source: The Observer, 12 October 2003
Doomed factory workers may struggle to find jobs
Workers at a north-east cigarette maker have onl a remote chance of finding similar jobs in the area when thte factory closes next year, their union has warned.
Despite BAT doing "everything possible" to help its 490 employees find other jobs, experts say their chance of finding equivalent jobs with similar salaries and benefits is unlikely.
Amicus MSF regional officer, Gerry Hunter said: "These jobs were in the upper quartile with the benefits package, salaries and pensions. That will be very difficult to replace."
Source: Northern Echo, 7 October 2003
Website woes
Websites offering smokers cheap tobacco are advertising alongside the very government warnings that explain how they are breaking the law, reports Retail Newsagent.
This contradictory position came to light after Retail Newsagent itself was approached by one site offering cigarettes for as little as £3 a pack and hand-rolling tobacco for half the UK price.
Customs and Excise said it was aware of the fraudulent sites and "was vigorously pursuing action against those who operate them. But it said many of the sites were based abroad and admitted none of them had been charged with any offence.
Customs were unable to say how much tobacco was sold via the sites.
Source: Retail Newsagent, 10 October 2003
Irish ban on smoking in public places faces opposition
For a government facing more than its fair share of scandals and difficulties, it is a problem it could do without. Fianna Fail, the senior partner in Ireland's coalition, gathers for its annual conference in County Kerry today divided over a controversial ban on smoking in the workplace.
The party is already on the slide in the opinion polls, with a weakening economy, and several recent scandals involving its members.
One backbencher is regularly sent to jail for not co-operating fully with a corruption inquiry, another has had to pay a hefty fine for tax evasion and a third knocked down a nurse while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Now Ireland's publicans are waging a tenacious rearguard action aimed at forcing a change of mind on the imminent smoking ban which critics say will significantly change Irish social life by turning pubs and restaurants into smoke-free zones. But the Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, is expected to tell conference delegates that the cabinet is adamant the smoking ban will go ahead in January.
Full article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=452148
Source: 11 October 2003
McTear vs. Imperial
There was continuing coverage in national and the regional press of the McTear case, where Margaret McTear is suing Imperial Tobacco over the death of her husband, Alfred McTear.
Alfred McTear, who smoked 60-a-day died of lung cancer, but hadd taken up the habit nearly eight years before cigarette companies began to put health warnings on cigarette packets.
Imperial Tobacco had demanded that Alfred's widow pay £2m in costs before the trial had even begun. A judged deemed this unnecessary, clearing the way for Britain's first 'smoking case' to be heard. The trial continues.
How was your weekend??
Quiet time with the kids? Reorganising the garden shed? Well, in that case this one is not strictly for you. But if you can't recall most of it because of bingeful behaviour then this Sunday Times piece is worth a read. Anita Chauduri examines what effects a weekend binge has on our bodies - looking alcohol, smoking, drinking amongst other substances.
Full article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-536-840614,00.html
Source: The Sunday Times, 12 October 2003
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Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531
ASH Daily News
11-13 October 2003
HEADLINES
FULL TEXT
£17,000 for asthmatic whose boss refused to stop smoking
An asthmatic has been awarded £17,000 compensation against a former employer who failed to stop smoking in her presence. The ruling could have wide-ranging implications for companies across Britain.
Karen Whitehead, 34, worked at the Granby Island Community Centre in Plymouth for only 45 days, but because she was registered disabled she was entitled to sue for unfair dismissal after being sacked for taking 16 days off sick.
An employment tribunal in Plymouth was told that during an appraisal she told her boss about her problem with the smoky environment only to have him light up twice in front of her.
Miss Whitehead said she became ill in her first week while working as an administrator in a room where smoking was allowed. She complained to the community centre's development manager, Sam Swabey, and was moved to the no-smoking reception area. But the centre failed to enforce the no-smoking rule.
Amanda Sandford, spokeswoman for the anti-smoking group ASH, said: "It's shocking that people still have to breathe in tobacco smoking when we know so much about the dangers," adding that the decision would have "significant implications for others in similar situations."
Full Times article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-2-849486,00.html
Source: The Times, Daily Mirror, Daily Express, 11 October 2003
Philip Morris using 'health adverts as PR'
The Observer reports on the a new drive that will see cigarette packets carrying a leaflet warning of the dangers of smoking that has sparked a row between a leading tobacco company and health campaigners.
Philip Morris International, the tobacco giant behind the Marlboro brand, will next week be placing 'onserts' on the side of some of its packets. These will be folded leaflets containing details about the dangers of smoking, its addictive nature and warnings that lower tart cigarettes are not necessarily safer. They will be in addition to health warnings that are now a legal requirement on all packets of cigarette packs.
But the move has been met with derision from anti-smoking groups. Rather than welcoming a campaign that would ostensibly echo their own message, they have accused Philip Morris of the message to 'spin' its own corporate image in the advent of last February's and on tobacco advertising.
"Philip Morris is using this campaign to try and tell consumers that it cares, that this is a company that is looking out for you and you can trust. In reality these adverts have been created to increase their market share," said Deborah Arnott, director of ASH.
"The tobacco firms spend huge amounts of money researching these types of schemes, and it would be naïve to think they were doing this purely in the public interest. Now that advertising cigarette brands has been made illegal in the UK, promoting the corporate image is the way that they seek to improve their sales. It allows them to keep their name and their product , if not the brand, in front of consumers,' Arnott added.
A spokesman for Philip Morris yesterday describes ASH's criticism as 'misplaced'.
Source: The Observer, 12 October 2003
Smokers should heed not hide warnings
Tobacconists across the country have experienced a surprising rise in demand for the cases, with some suppliers tripling their sales over the past 10 months. The demand has been prompted by the introduction in January of large black-bordered messages on cigarette packets delivering the warnings that "Smoking Kills" and "Smokers Die Younger". The warnings must cover 30 per cent of the front of the packet and 40 per cent of the back, according to a European Union directive.
The EU has further plans to introduce photographic warnings showing diseased lungs and mouths from next October, which retailers say will further fuel demand for the cases.
Buying a cigarette case is just one of the many inventive ways smokers are attempting to hide the health warnings. Another is to cover them with stickers emblazoned with slogans such as "You could be hit by a bus tomorrow" and "Smoking is cool".
A spokesman for Ash, the anti-smoking charity, called the increase in case sales an interesting development. "Clearly the health warnings are having an impact because people can't help but notice them," he added.
"They are very stark and very 'in your face' and so effective that people are worried about them. Smokers who hide their cigarettes in a case are obviously still in denial and not wanting to face up to the harsh realities of smoking. In time they will."
Source: Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2003
Unfit Britons told to take exercise by Blair
Tony Blair has admitted privately that Labour's efforts to boost the number of people taking up sport have failed and he has instructed Ministers to prepare an ambitious 'interventionist' fitness strategy linked to the Olympics bid.
The biggest-ever initiative to turn Britain into a nation that enjoys exercise will begin in the new year, with a £1 million publicity campaign showing how gardening, walking to work and even housework can help to make you fit.
Number 10 is convinced it must act decisively amid mounting evidence that the obesity epidemic among children and young adults will leave a massive health bill from diabetes and heart disease within 15 years.
In a letter to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a copy of which has been leaked to The Observer, Blair spells out what he sees as the Government's failure to promote exercise: 'Government policy has not delivered the outcomes we want in this area,' he writes. 'We have started to make progress on the school sport agenda, but also need to more effectively tackle activity levels in the adult population.'
Full article:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1061376,00.html
Source: The Observer, 12 October 2003
Doomed factory workers may struggle to find jobs
Workers at a north-east cigarette maker have onl a remote chance of finding similar jobs in the area when thte factory closes next year, their union has warned.
Despite BAT doing "everything possible" to help its 490 employees find other jobs, experts say their chance of finding equivalent jobs with similar salaries and benefits is unlikely.
Amicus MSF regional officer, Gerry Hunter said: "These jobs were in the upper quartile with the benefits package, salaries and pensions. That will be very difficult to replace."
Source: Northern Echo, 7 October 2003
Website woes
Websites offering smokers cheap tobacco are advertising alongside the very government warnings that explain how they are breaking the law, reports Retail Newsagent.
This contradictory position came to light after Retail Newsagent itself was approached by one site offering cigarettes for as little as £3 a pack and hand-rolling tobacco for half the UK price.
Customs and Excise said it was aware of the fraudulent sites and "was vigorously pursuing action against those who operate them. But it said many of the sites were based abroad and admitted none of them had been charged with any offence.
Customs were unable to say how much tobacco was sold via the sites.
Source: Retail Newsagent, 10 October 2003
Irish ban on smoking in public places faces opposition
For a government facing more than its fair share of scandals and difficulties, it is a problem it could do without. Fianna Fail, the senior partner in Ireland's coalition, gathers for its annual conference in County Kerry today divided over a controversial ban on smoking in the workplace.
The party is already on the slide in the opinion polls, with a weakening economy, and several recent scandals involving its members.
One backbencher is regularly sent to jail for not co-operating fully with a corruption inquiry, another has had to pay a hefty fine for tax evasion and a third knocked down a nurse while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Now Ireland's publicans are waging a tenacious rearguard action aimed at forcing a change of mind on the imminent smoking ban which critics say will significantly change Irish social life by turning pubs and restaurants into smoke-free zones. But the Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, is expected to tell conference delegates that the cabinet is adamant the smoking ban will go ahead in January.
Full article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=452148
Source: 11 October 2003
McTear vs. Imperial
There was continuing coverage in national and the regional press of the McTear case, where Margaret McTear is suing Imperial Tobacco over the death of her husband, Alfred McTear.
Alfred McTear, who smoked 60-a-day died of lung cancer, but hadd taken up the habit nearly eight years before cigarette companies began to put health warnings on cigarette packets.
Imperial Tobacco had demanded that Alfred's widow pay £2m in costs before the trial had even begun. A judged deemed this unnecessary, clearing the way for Britain's first 'smoking case' to be heard. The trial continues.
How was your weekend??
Quiet time with the kids? Reorganising the garden shed? Well, in that case this one is not strictly for you. But if you can't recall most of it because of bingeful behaviour then this Sunday Times piece is worth a read. Anita Chauduri examines what effects a weekend binge has on our bodies - looking alcohol, smoking, drinking amongst other substances.
Full article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-536-840614,00.html
Source: The Sunday Times, 12 October 2003
----------------------------------
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