ASH Daily News for 09/10/2000

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ASH Daily News

7-9 October, 2000

Headlines

Doctors 'must fight tobacco barons'
'Is this man the most powerful tycoon in Europe today?'
Imperial launches new product
European pipe smoking championships held
Letter: Cannabis equally bad as tobacco


Full Text

Doctors 'must fight tobacco barons'

Cancer doctors have been urged to take the lead in the campaign for stricter
tobacco industry controls.

Professor David Kerr, an internationally renowned expert on lung cancer,
believes that with the tobacco industry fighting attempts to clampdown on
its
operations, the time has come for doctors to take a more pro-active stance.

Professor Kerr's comments follow the decision of the European Court of
Justice
to overturn the EU Directive banning tobacco advertising.

They also follow a report which calls into question the advertising tactics
of
the tobacco industry.

The report was compiled by the Centre for Tobacco Control Research (CTCR) at
Strathclyde University, which was asked to analyse internal documents
produced
by advertising agencies working for the tobacco industry.

Source: BBC Online, Saturday, 7 October 2000

' Is this man the most powerful tycoon in Europe today?'

The Sunday Express reports that, 'Bernie Ecclestone, the grand old wizard of
Formula One racing, should have a lot to smile about this month as he blows
the candles out on his 70th birthday cake.'

However the road ahead may not be that smooth. While he should be gearing up
for what friends say will be the mother of all parties, Ecclestone is still
suffering from a New Labour hangover which continues to needle him and haunt
Tony Blair.

Today the Sunday Express can reveal that Ecclestone faces the possibility of
a
European-wide investigation into the full extent of his generosity following
the fiasco surrounding his £million donation to the Labour Party.

But the repercussions could be felt elsewhere as some Euro MPs seek to
establish whether tobacco-related donations have been made to other
political
parties in Europe.

English MEP Chris Davies has tabled five questions asking if any donations
come
from companies linked to Ecclestone or the powerful tobacco industry, which
has
generated billions of pounds worth of business for F1.

Source: Source: The Sunday Express, 8 October 2000

Imperial launches new product

The Retail Newsagent reports that, 'Imperial tobacco is launching a
completely new concept in the tobacco market that will enable consumers to
make factory perfect cigarettes at home, which will effectively move the
production of cigarettes from factories to consumer homes.'

Source: Retail Newsagent, 3 October 2000

European pipe smoking championships held

The Sunday Business reports, 'The European pipe smoking championships are
being held in Dijon, France. The aim is to smoke a pipe for as long as
possible without relighting. The record is 3hrs 15 minutes.'

Source: Sunday Business, 8 October 2000

Letter: Cannabis worse than tobacco

A letter appears in the Daily Telegraph from Dr John Campion. He writes,
'cannabis being a weed that is very much less harmful than tobacco', the
ninth report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science &
Technology.states, "Cannabis smoke contains all of the toxic chemicals
present in tobacco smoker (apart from nicotine) with greater concentrations
of the of the carcinogenic benzanthracenes and benzpyrenes.'

Source: Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2000