Highland’s investment in tobacco firms overshadows health report

Highland Council’s continued multimillion-pound investment in the tobacco industry threatens to overshadow publication of a report next week which claims that the authority takes health issues seriously.

The document by its health improvement policy officer Keith Walker commits the council to “reducing the burden of disease, disability and premature death due to tobacco by reducing the inequalities in current smoking rates, reducing exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke and reducing the uptake of smoking.”

Tackling smoking features in “health priorities” that councillors are expected to ratify at Thursday’s full council meeting in Inverness.

The report refers to “a recognition” that the issues can only be effectively addressed through “dealing with the underlying causes of health inequalities alongside preventative interventions”.

It boasts that all primary and secondary schools in the region have included tobacco education as part of the curriculum.

The council confirmed yesterday, however, that it continues to have millions of pounds of its pension and common good funds invested in tobacco companies, more than two years after the Press and Journal revealed the authority’s December 2007 holding of more than £30million in the industry.

Council leader GP Michael Foxley and several colleagues are vehemently opposed to the choice of stocks and there has been widespread condemnation from north politicians.

Most councillors have defended it, however, on the advice of an advocate who told them that “excluding” an investment on ethical grounds could be financially costly because the council is duty bound to maintain maximum profitability for its portfolio.

Defending councils’ “autonomy,” Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon last year refused to criticise the choice of investment, but suggested its elected members would in future “answer to the electorate”.

Source: The Press and Journal - 27 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/cwUmYU

EU policymakers urged not to bow to tobacco industry pressure

Experts have urged the European Commission to ensure it focuses on public health when developing policies, rather than succumbing to pressure from the tobacco industry.

The Commission's progress on reducing tobacco-related deaths has been welcomed by health experts, but there are still concerns that the tobacco industry could hamper future attempts to introduce effective health policies unless the system of consultation in policy development is revised.

Experts want a full review of the current system to be undertaken in order to develop a new process and match the legally-binding obligations of the EU to the commitments of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - a World Health Organisation treaty that was ratified in June 2005.

The treaty sets out clear objectives to minimise tobacco-related harms, such as banning tobacco advertising and raising prices.

Furthermore, Article 5.3 of the treaty states that policies must be protected from commercial interests of the tobacco industry.

But experts are concerned that, despite this treaty, the tobacco industry continues to influence policymakers' decisions.

In particular, there are fears that the business-friendly 'Better Regulation' reforms have increased the influence of tobacco companies over policymakers in the field of public health.

Florence Berteletti-Kemp, director of the Smoke Free Partnership, commented: "Better Regulation is a little like the Emperor's new clothes. A lot of people talk about how 'good' the system is. But like the child in the story, the research points to the fact that the system is very complex and that very few stakeholders understand it fully."

Ms Berteletti-Kemp said that large corporations clearly spend "a great deal of time thinking about how to influence the Better Regulation agenda".

"Without a serious examination of the whole process of health policy development, of making sure that health - not profits - is the goal of these policies, then we risk having ineffective regulations that fail to protect people from the harm of tobacco," she warned.

"The commission needs to ensure that risk assessments and impact assessment are not biased in favour of corporate interests so that the policies using them can adequately protect health and the environment. We look forward to seeing a fair, transparent and democratic system being maintained and developed under (European Commission president Jose Manuel) Barroso."

Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "The FCTC clearly states that there is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the tobacco industry and public health.

"In its recent tobacco control strategy for England - 'A Smokefree Future' - the UK Government has committed to transparency and to publish details of meetings held between officials and representatives of the tobacco industry. We urge the Commission to do the same."

Source: Cancer Research UK - 26 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/cOiysG

USA: Health groups ask Court to penalize tobacco companies

Six public health groups have asked the U. S. Supreme Court to authorize a trial court to require major cigarette manufacturers to pay for a broad public education campaign against smoking, as well as programs to help smokers quit. The groups also asked that the trial court be empowered to require the tobacco companies to forfeit profits they made during decades of illegal activity. 

The request for the high court to consider the case stems from a landmark ruling in 2006 in which the cigarette manufacturers were found guilty of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). In that ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kestrel found that major cigarette manufacturers had violated civil racketeering laws, defrauded the American people by lying for decades about the health risks of smoking and aggressively marketed their products to children.

However, Judge Kessler ruled that the penalties she could impose on the tobacco companies were limited by a controversial appeals court ruling that restricted the remedies she could impose under the civil RICO law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld Judge Kessler's ruling on May 22, 2009.

The six public health groups are now asking the Supreme Court to overturn that part of the decision that restricted the penalties she could order.

The petition was filed by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.

Source: Tobacco Reporter - 26 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/d6GKGh

"Big Tobacco" still on the march, WHO warns

Governments must do more to protect workers in bars, restaurants and the entertainment sector from harmful smoke, and curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Developing countries are the new frontier for tobacco companies, which often target women and girls, and smoking rates remain high among poor people in affluent countries, it said.

Tobacco kills more than 5 million people a year from cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, including about 600,000 from second-hand smoke, according to the United Nations agency.

"Most alarming of all, tobacco use is actually increasing in many developing countries. If Big Tobacco is in retreat in some parts of the world, it is on the march in others," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, told a meeting to review implementation of a landmark tobacco treaty five years after it came into force.

"As we all know, the tobacco industry is ruthless, devious, rich and powerful," she said.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, under review at the WHO, is the world's first and only public health treaty and has been ratified by 168 countries including China.

It obliges governments to protect their populations from exposure to tobacco smoke and reduce demand through price and tax measures, regulating packaging and labeling of tobacco products and curbing tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

But WHO monitoring has revealed huge gaps in implementing the treaty.

"For example, just slightly more than 5 percent of the world's population is protected by national smoke-free laws," Chan said.

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, the United States, and tobacco-producing Zimbabwe are among those that have stayed outside the pact.

Many countries have implemented smoking bans in government buildings and health-care facilities, but have much lower rates in the entertainment and hospitality sectors, a WHO report said.

Tobacco taxes are the most effective way to reduce tobacco use, but only 21 countries have tobacco tax rates greater than 75 percent of the retail price, Chan said.

Fewer than one third of treaty members restrict advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, the WHO says.

Tobacco companies had argued that the treaty threatened the livelihoods of tobacco farmers, advertising revenues, and the survival of restaurants, bars and sporting events, Chan said.

The main threat to fully implementing the treaty remains interference by the tobacco industry, activist groups including Corporate Accountability International said in a statement.

"Big Tobacco promotes its addictive and deadly product to kids with images like Philip Morris's Marlboro Man, by sponsoring rock concerts and sporting events, and by putting tobacco brand names and logos on everything from T-shirts to patio umbrellas," they said.

Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro cigarettes and is the world's largest non-state-owned tobacco firm, declined to comment on Chan's comments, but said it supported regulation and many of the treaty provisions.

"We really hope the process focuses on implementing effective regulations that work, such as measures to reduce youth smoking and illicit trade in tobacco products, to reduce harm caused by smoking," spokesman Ben Russell told Reuters.

A British American Tobacco spokesman voiced dismay at the WHO's unwillingness to talk to the industry.

"The WHO thinks its aims such as encouraging retail display bans and plain packaging will make a difference. There is no evidence to show this - it just drives illicit trade," he said.

Source: Reuters - 26 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/bXpbhd

Pub landlord is first person in Britain to be jailed over smoking ban

A former pub landlord yesterday became the first person to be jailed in connection with the smoking ban.

Nick Hogan, 43, was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to pay a fine imposed for flouting the legislation.

Two years ago Hogan, who ran two pubs in Bolton, became the first landlord convicted of breaking the law for allowing his customers to routinely light up in his bars.

A judge fined Hogan, of Chorley, Lancashire, £3,000 and ordered him to pay £7,236 in costs after finding him guilty of four charges under the Health Act 2006.

But the married father-of-two refused to pay the fine and yesterday, after repeatedly being hauled back before the courts, a judge sitting at Bolton Crown Court finally lost patience and jailed him.

Last night his wife, Denise, 53, who is also a publican, said she was disgusted that her husband would be in prison alongside murderers and rapists.

'Criminals and bad people go to prison not law-abiding businessmen like my husband who are trying to earn an honest living,' she said. 'Nick doesn't deserve to go to jail, all he has done is speak his mind and people simply don't like it.

'Ninety per cent of people who come into my pub want to smoke, even the non-smokers think there should be a choice. These laws are ridiculous.'
At the hearing, in January 2008, magistrates were told Hogan held a 'mass light-up' in his two pubs, the Swan Hotel and Barristers' Bar, in Bolton, on the day the smoking ban came into force in July 2007.

He was visited by inspectors from the local authority, who found letters taped to pub tables advising customers they had the 'freedom to choose whether or not to smoke'.

They also saw regulars smoking on five separate occasions.

Hogan, who has since sold his lease for both the pubs, was cleared of one count of failing to prevent his customers from smoking and four further charges of obstructing council officers.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking group ASH, insisted it was a myth that the anti-smoking legislation had forced pubs out of business. She said: 'Many pubs have shifted their focus to serving food, so they have changed their nature.' She added: 'Mr Hogan is the exception, not the norm, because compliance rates for the ban are way above 90 per cent.'

Source: Daily Mail - 27 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/9zKRQ2

ACS welcomes ministerial concessions on tobacco display ban rules

The Association of Convenience Stores has welcomed Ministerial concessions regarding the rules that will be in place when a tobacco display ban comes into force for local shops in 2013.

Regulations to be laid before Parliament next week set out the rules on how retailers can comply with the tobacco display ban enacted in the Health Act 2009. Draft proposals published in November were criticised by local shops as amongst the most restrictive and costly to comply with in the world. ACS has led negotiations with Government and these have resulted in significant concessions that will provide greater flexibility and reduce the cost impact on shops.

ACS Chief Executive, James Lowman said: “ACS welcomes the open approach that Ministers have taken to engaging with local shops following Parliament’s decision to implement a ban on tobacco display. Whilst Ministers have not accepted our recommendations in full, the finalised regulations on permitted display area will present fewer practical difficulties and lower implementation costs than the draft proposals contained in the consultation.

“As long as the legislation is in place to ban the display of tobacco we will work with the Department of Health to ensure that retailers are given the support they will need to manage compliance with this new law.”

The major concession relates to the ‘permitted display area’, the amount of tobacco display that can be exposed when retailers are retrieving a product from the unit or after a customer request. In draft rules Government proposed a maximum permitted display of 0.15 m2, this would have required fitting a minimum of 20 doors to a typical convenience store gantry. In finalised regulations laid before Parliament the maximum permitted display area will be 0.75m2, requiring a minimum of 4 doors. This concession will lead to cost savings in fitting solutions to units and be easier to use in a busy service environment.

Mr Lowman reiterated ACS opposition to the ban on principle and committed to continue to make the case for a more radical rethink “We remain convinced that a display ban is unnecessary and that even with concessions the cost and disruption that the regulations will impose are unjustified.

Our acknowledgement of these concessions will not temper our continued commitment to making the case against the ban on principle.”

Source: Association of Convenience Stores - 26 February 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/aXhEa2