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ASH Daily news for 09 September 2010

HEADLINES

  • ASH claims smoking ban survey is 'misleading'

    A leading anti-smoking charity has hit out at a study which claims the smoking ban is the main cause of pub closures in the UK.

    Action on Smoking Health (ASH) called into question the report’s validity, which found “an almost total correlation” in the introduction of the ban and the drop in the number of pubs in England, Scotland and Wales.

    The report, compiled by CR Consulting, and commissioned by the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign, claimed that almost three years after the ban’s introduction Scotland, Wales and England have seen between 7.1 and 7.6 per cent of their pubs close.

    But Amanda Sandford, research manager ASH, said: "Despite claims to the contrary, there is no evidence of overall harm to the licensed trade."

    "In fact, alcohol on-sales licences increased by five per cent in the first year following the smoking ban.”

    She claimed the survey was "misleading" and does not reflect the "reality of the licensed trade".

    "True, many traditional pubs have closed, but more licensed premises have opened in recent years that now sell food as well as alcohol,” she added.

    But Simon Clark, director of the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign, said this was not the reality for many pubs.

    “We were told that the ban would encourage a new wave of non-smoking customers but that hasn’t happened,” he said. “Instead, many smokers have chosen to stay at home and thousands of pubs have closed as a result.”

    Oliver Griffiths, director of CR Consulting, warned that further pub losses in England and Wales were inevitable.

    "In Scotland the smoking ban was introduced 15 months before England and they have lost a further four per cent of their pubs,” he said.

    The smoking ban came into force in Scotland in April 2006, with England and Wales implementing the ban in July 2007.

    Source: The Publican, 08 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/9DRuRV

  • 'Unethical' Lambeth Council invests in tobacco companies

    Millions of pounds were invested in tobacco companies by “unethical” Lambeth Council while it trumpeted an anti-smoking agenda.

    Despite being a member of the borough’s tobacco alliance, which aims to reduce the harmful effect of smoking on residents, the town hall made the investments from its pension fund while its cash-strapped partner, NHS Lambeth, spent hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money on its anti-smoking programme.

    The council’s latest investment accounts, published last week, show it has £9.3m of its employees’ pension fund invested in tobacco, with the value of its portfolio in the controversial industry increasing by £3.7m in 2009-10.

    Martin Dockrell, director of policy and health at campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), said: “We think its highly regrettable a local authority whose work involves improving the health of people living in its borough, should be investing its employees’ pension money in an industry that will cost many of its employees their lives."

    “We understand pension trusts have a duty to get the best return but they are not obliged to invest in unethical tobacco products. There are lots of ethical investments that would give a great return.”

    In total the NHS spent £84m in 2009-10 on anti-smoking services. NHS Lambeth spent £361,000 in the same period.

    A council spokesman said: “The council works within a highly regulated pension regime with strong governance procedures and with appropriate use of pension fund advisers and managers to oversee its pension fund investments."

    “Lambeth Council has a policy of constructive engagement on ethical issues with the companies in which we hold investments. We do this as part of a consortium of like-minded investors and vote as part of the consortium in a way aimed at improving the ethics of these companies."

    “The Pensions Investment Panel must balance a number of legal duties including maximising return on investment with sound risk management protocols including diversifying its portfolio to spread risk. It will continue to seek evaluations from its fund managers and advisers on the best way to balance those duties."

    Source: Streatham Guardian, 09 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cvK2J9

  • Letter to the Editor: Shopkeeper responds to leading charities letter

    A shopkeeper has responded to a letter published in The Times on 6th September which urged the Government to put children at the heart of pubilic health policy.

    The Shopkeeper, Mahendra Jadeja, argues that despite the good intentions behind the legislation there is a risk that it will increase sales of counterfet and black market tobacco products.
     
    Please note Times paywall subscription required.

  • Reading: Service beats smoking target

    The number of people quitting smoking in Reading has smashed NHS targets by 14 per cent.
     
    NHS Berkshire West’s Stop Smoking Service has helped 2,474 people to stub out the habit, more than ever before, with 60 per cent of people who committed to stop smoking succeeding compared to the national average of 49 per cent.

    Iwona Rodriguez, Stop Smoking co-ordinator, said:  “We’re delighted that our Stop Smoking Service at NHS Berkshire West has been so successful.

    “We have a number of initiatives to help people throughout the area and our drop-in clinic (known as the POD) at the Broad Street Mall was recently cited in a national report on tobacco control as an example of good practice.”

    Source: getreading, 07 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/bv8o7i

  • Scotland: Tobacco haul found inside sandals

    HM Revenue and Customs officers have seized counterfeit tobacco worth more than £100,000 in the south of Scotland.

    The operation, involving Dumfries and Galloway traffic police, was carried out on the A74(M) at about 0045 BST on Friday.

    A van was stopped containing more than half a tonne of smuggled tobacco - some concealed inside sandals which had been brought into the country from China.

    The HMRC said the driver had been detained and inquiries were ongoing.

    A spokesman said the operation was part of ongoing "disruption tactics" against organised Chinese criminal gangs involved in the import, processing and packaging of counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco.

    The van was found to contain 50 boxes of tobacco along with a large amount of counterfeit packaging.

    Source: BBC News, 08 September 2010
    Link: http://bbc.in/dCz91Y

  • Spain's Basque region moves to ban smoking in cars

    The government of Spain's northern Basque region said Wednesday it had approved a stringent anti-smoking law which will make it illegal to light up inside a car if a minor is present.

    Under the draft law, which now must be approved by the regional Basque parliament, adults will also be banned from smoking in places like playgrounds and school yards that are destined for use by children.

    In addition, the law bans smoking in all bars, restaurants and other public enclosed places as well as in open spaces like cafe terraces "that do not allow for strong air currents".

    The draft law goes much further than the anti-smoking legislation in place at the national level in Spain since 2006, which bans smoking in the workplace and on public transport but only partially in bars and restaurants.

    The Spanish government has said it plans to amend its anti-smoking law, which is less restrictive than in other European nations, to extend the ban on lighting up to all enclosed spaces but is still working on the new rules.

    The three-province Basque region, where a significant minority would like to establish a homeland independent from Spain, has extensive home-rule powers, including a regional police force as well as control over education, health care and tax collection.

    It is home to about two million people out of Spain's total population of around 47 million.

    Source: AFP, 08 September 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/9KqiT1