HEADLINES

• Cambridgeshire County council’s £25 million investment in tobacco companies sparks outrage
• Essex MP denies cigs firm link in smoking vote
• Thieves break in to prison and steal cigarettes
• WHO chief slams tobacco firms that ‘harass’ governments to prevent anti-smoking measures
• Japan Tobacco accused of marketing to girls at World Cup volleyball
• King of the Cuban cigar breaks world record

• Cambridgeshire County council’s £25 million investment in tobacco companies sparks outrage

  A total of £25 million of public money has been invested in tobacco companies by Cambridgeshire County Council-managed pension pots.

  The local authority overseen Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Scheme Fund has the cash invested in tobacco companies which accounts for 1.9 per cent of the total fund.

  A spokesman for the county council said: “We have a responsibility to taxpayers to make sure that money invested attains the maximum level of return within an acceptable degree of risk.

  “The trustees of the Pension Fund have a single objective, which is to maximise returns to meet the fund’s pension liabilities, and therefore reduce the cost to taxpayers.”

  Despite Cambridgeshire County Council’s reassurances the Liberal Democrat health spokesman condemned the council’s decision.

  The county council’s investment has also been criticised by ASH which says it is time for local authorities to rethink as the number of smokers is falling and firms may not continue to offer a guaranteed return.

  “It can be argued that there is an ethical and moral issue but purely on financial grounds we would question the assumption that tobacco is a good source of investment now as smoking is decreasing – not only in the west but in other parts of the world,” an ASH spokesman said.

  “It’s on those grounds we would urge local authorities to rethink their investment in tobacco.”

  Source: Cambridge First - 14 November 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/tyzSM1

• Essex MP denies cigs firm link in smoking vote

  MP Stephen Metcalfe has denied allegations he deliberately voted against a ban on smoking in cars after accepting hospitality from a tobacco company.

  The south Basildon and East Thurrock MP was one of seven MPs to accept tickets from Japan Tobacco International to the Chelsea Flower Show, in May.

  Weeks later, Mr Metcalfe voted against a Ten Minute Rule Bill in Parliament, which called for smoking in cars to be outlawed.

  Mr Metcalfe said he would always have voted against the Bill and added he has never even had a conversation with bosses at Japan Tobacco about the Bill.

  He said: “This is just utter rubbish. It’s absurd.

  “Japan Tobacco has spoken with me in the past over the problem of illegal cigarette trafficking, as figures show it is a significant problem in Basildon and Billericay. We’ve never spoken about the Bill. It is not in any way strange that in my job I would be talking to a tobacco company.

  “Whether you like smoking or not, it is a legal activity and it generates millions of pounds every year in tax.”

  Mr Metcalfe, who is a smoker, added: “I think smokers have been castigated over the years.

  “It’s about liberty and the fact people should be advised about health issues, but not told what to do in their own homes and cars.

  “Nobody wants to see smoking around children, but to legislate this Bill would be difficult and practically impossible to enforce.”

  Mr Metcalfe declared the visit to the horticultural show on the register of MPs’ private interests, as required by parliamentary regulations.

  He conceded he was shocked at the cost of the tickets: “To be honest I couldn’t believe it when I found out. We had lunch, a couple of glasses of wine and visited the show, that was it.

  “It wasn’t until afterwards I found out the price of these tickets and I think it was too high.”

  Mr Metcalfe said he is not a supporter of the UK’s outright ban on lighting up in public places.

  He said: “If I’d been an MP then, I would have voted against it. Pubs and working men’s clubs have been hit hard by the ban.”

  Source: Echo News - 24 November 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/uzZKAR

• Thieves break in to prison and steal cigarettes

   

  Thieves broke into HMP Kirkham near Preston, Lancashire, and stole tobacco products worth £8000 on 5 November.

  A spokeswoman for Lancashire police confirmed that they are investigating the reported theft and that they are reviewing CCTV footage.

  Source: The Guardian - 24 November 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/v8YHUc

• WHO chief slams tobacco firms that ‘harass’ governments to prevent anti-smoking measures

  The head of the World Health Organization has urged countries to stand together against tobacco companies that are trying to “harass” them into softening their anti-smoking stance.

  “Tobacco is the only industry that produces products to make huge profits and at the same time damage the health and kill their consumers,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told officials at a public health meeting in Geneva.

  “How can we as an international community allow big tobacco to harass countries?” she asked. Chan said Australia, Uruguay, Norway and the United States were among the countries targeted by the tobacco industry over their measures to reduce smoking-related disease.

  Tobacco giant Philip Morris launched legal action against Australia’s government on Monday, hours after the country’s Parliament passed new legislation banning all logos from cigarette packages.

  In the United States, tobacco companies have sued the Food and Drug Administration over requirements to feature graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking, saying the rules infringe their right to free speech.

  Source: Washington Post - 23 November 2011
  Link: http://wapo.st/ukOW0F

• Japan Tobacco accused of marketing to girls at World Cup volleyball

  Anti-smoking campaigners in Japan are accusing one of the world’s leading tobacco companies of marketing products to teenage girls at World Cup volleyball events in Tokyo.

  Japan Tobacco’s logo (JT) is on the national team uniforms, court-side digital billboards, TV ads and “gift” packages handed out to schoolgirls, mothers and children entering Yoyogi National Stadium and arenas across Japan during the World Cup, which runs until Dec. 4.

  While the United States, European Union and other industrialized countries have long banned tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events, Japan Tobacco has been a major promoter of volleyball, helping to make the sport popular among schoolgirls. Japan has hosted every World Cup since 1977, and three of the last four world championships.

  Japan Tobacco also sponsors a national team starring the country’s top player, Yoshie Takeshita.

  Source: Washington Times - 24 November 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/v5UITf

• King of the Cuban cigar breaks world record

  Jose "Cueto" Castelar makes Cuban cigars like no other.

  And at more than 81m (265ft) long, his latest effort has gained him his fifth Guinness World Record.

  No less than 90kg (200lb) of tobacco was rolled into the smoke.

  A video is available by clicking on the link below.

  Source: BBC News 25 November 2011
  Link: http://bbc.in/vnAfVr