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ASH Daily News

3 November 2006

[View html version: http://www.globalink.org/nbuk]

HEADLINES

Community College allows students to smoke between classes

Bar chain is encouraging staff to quit smoking

Preparation is the key to success say Irish licensees

People who flout smoking ban may cause the match to be abandoned

FULL TEXT

Community College allows students to smoke between classes

Freebrough Community College has designated a special courtyard where
teenagers as young as 14 can smoke between breaks in lessons. The
revelation follows news that Tinshill Learning Centre in Leeds which had
a similar scheme has now dropped the idea.

The Freebrough scheme has attracted condemnation from parents and
politicians. They accused the school of condoning smoking and flouting
the spirit of the law which bans cigarette sales to under-16s.

The students that attend Freebrough are located in a special centre a
short distance from the main school site. The school which has 30
youngsters - aged 14 to 16 - are allowed to follow relaxed school rules
including less formal dress code. They learn job skills and vocational
trades such as joinery because they are considered disaffected or
ill-suited to academic study. Now it has emerged youngsters on the
'alternative education' course are allowed smoking breaks as long as
they have a note from their parents.

The smoking move is part of a trial scheme to improve attendance which
could be extended to two similar centres serving other schools in the
Redcar and Cleveland local authority area. The pupils can smoke in an
enclosed courtyard on the premises of the unit in Guisborough.

Freebrough vice-principal Ian Mather: "We wrote to the parents because
it is my belief that they know their children smoke. Rather than let
them sneak a smoke in a dangerous place, we are offering them the
opportunity to do so in a controlled and safe environment.

"We do not condone smoking in any way. We felt we had two choices -
pretend they weren't smoking or do something constructive about it."

He said that youngsters could be helped to quit by bringing the problem
out in the open. Pupils were also given advice sessions on how to stop
smoking.

But parents warned that teenagers at the main school could also demand
to be allowed to smoke. One mother said: "This sends entirely the wrong
message to the other children at the school.

Deborah Arnott, director of ASH, said: "We understand it's very
difficult for teachers but smoking is addictive and it kills.

"The earlier you start the more dangerous it is. We should be doing
everything we can to dissuade children from smoking rather than
condoning it. This sends very mixed messages to children and runs
counter to the spirit of the law."

Source: Daily Mail 2 November 2006
Link to article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article
_id=414171&in_page_id=1770



Bar chain is encouraging staff to quit smoking

The bar chain Brannigans and Mood have launched a new campaign to help
their staff quit smoking before next summer's smoking ban. The 'Trash
the Ash' campaign, launched on November 1, is designed to help staff
quit smoking using quirky incentive schemes and ideas during work hours.


Staff who currently smoke will be offered advice, guidance and
counselling to help them quit smoking.

Rob Burns, Herald Inns and Bars Operations director, said: "Creating a
smokefree work policy gives staff the encouragement they need to quit."

A problem people often have when they quit smoking is not having
something to do with their hands. To counteract this, the company will
give the people quitting stress balls to keep their hands busy.

Smoking breaks will also be abolished and instead 'exercise breaks' will
be introduced. This will give staff the opportunity to take part in a
10-minute workout to keep them busy during breaks.

Source: The Publican 3 November 2006
Link to article:
http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=53328&c=3



Preparation is the key to success say Irish licensees

Pat Nolan, the editor of Drinks Industry Ireland has written an opinion
piece for the Morning Advertiser on the impact of the Irish smoking ban
a few years on. Below is an extract.

"At the time the ban was introduced in March 2004, the on-trade in
Ireland was experiencing pressure from a number of separate quarters.
Home entertainment had increased and there was a growing drift to
off-trade.

On top of that, price sensitivity had entered the equation, following
the changeover to the Euro. Finally, there was a changing demographic
that saw a buoyant and highly-affluent youth market moving into
marriage, mortgages and baby-making. The smoking ban only served to
compound declining on-trade fortunes.

When the ban was brought in, places that had failed to prepare or make
provisions - especially landlocked pubs - found their customers leaving
for more comfortable smoking areas elsewhere, while outlets that were
ready got the extra business.

A study found that although staffing levels fell by almost 9% after the
ban's introduction in March 2004, the average number of customers
visiting pubs rose from 58 to 66 in any hour. The study also found that
smokers smoked less while visiting the pubs.

The cost of living has also affected licenses; the former
three-times-a-week customer comes in once a week as they are struggling
to pay a mortgage and had no pay rise to match. Fuel and petrol prices
have also added to the spiralling cost of living. So the smoking ban has
been overtaken by other factors, reducing its importance in determining
overall pub business."

Senator Eddie Bohan, representative to the Government for the licensed
trade said that "The trade as a whole has recovered from the smoking
ban."

Source: Morning Advertiser 2 November 2006
Link to article:
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=23651&link
edfrom=search&from=&to=&keywords=®ions=¤tpage=0



People who flout smoking ban may cause the match to be abandoned

Matches at Swansea's Liberty Stadium could be abandoned if people
continue to flout the smoking ban. Stadium bosses are also no longer
prepared up put up with stewards being physically threatened for telling
spectators to stub out cigarettes.

They have issued a stark warning to offenders - comply or face ejection
and a possible ban.

The new directive comes after a number of recent incidents in which
tobacco smoke triggered the hi-tech fire alarm system, forcing the
shutters to automatically come down on food and drink kiosks in the
stadium.

If smoke sensors trigger off the alarm system in more than one place at
the same time it would prompt an evacuation from the stadium.

"There is a small element of stadium users that continues to flout the
no-smoking regulations, despite repeated warnings being issued through
the media and match-day announcements over the stadium PA system," said
a stadium spokesman.

"It is unfortunate that the inconsiderate few are spoiling the enjoyment
of the majority of stadium-goers who happily support the no-smoking
policy.

"Our stadium fire alarm system is extremely sensitive and at recent
matches it has been activated by cigarette smoke in the men's toilets.
The result is that the automated system shuts down all kiosks in the
vicinity to prevent the spread of what it believes is a fire. Obviously,
this causes great inconvenience to other stadium users."

As well as hitting stadium revenue, it could mean the plug being pulled
on a match itself. "There is a very real risk of a match having to be
abandoned because of this problem," said the spokesman.

He also warned the "small element" of spectators who have physically
threatened stewards and maintenance staff who are attempting to deal
with the shut-down caused by smoke sensor activations. "This is quite
frankly unacceptable behaviour that will not be tolerated." he said.

Source: This is South Wales 2 November 2006
Link to article: http://tinyurl.com/ygaapz

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Sarah Ward
Information Manager
Action on Smoking & Health (ASH)
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW

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