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ASH Daily News

3 December 2004

HEADLINES

McTear Judge's outburst towards QC
Ireland: Dramatic fall in cigarette sales
Convenience stores ponder smoking ban
Edinburgh students applaud University's tobacco divestment
Shock ads: It pays to be offensive
Guilty pleasures




FULL TEXT

McTear Judge's outburst towards QC

A letter from a politician about an historic damages case has led
yesterday to an angry rebuke from the judge. The judge has reported a
senior lawyer for possible disciplinary action.

Allan Wilson, MSP wrote to Lord Nimmo Smith about the time he has taken
to give a ruling on a widow's claim for compensation from a tobacco firm
for the death of her husband from lung cancer.

In a furious outburst directed at the woman's QC, Colin McEachran, who
had suggested that she contact her MSP, the judge said he found the
situation "reprehensible".

Lord Nimmo Smith took it as implying that he was not executing his
duties properly and accused Mr McEachran of thinking he knew better than
the judge how best to do his job. The judge suggested he had brought
himself and his professional body, the Faculty of Advocates, into
disrepute.

In reply Mr McEachran insisted that he had merely given advice to
contact the MSP, not that there should be direct contact with the judge.
On hearing that Lord Nimmo Smith had referred the matter to the Faculty
of Advocates, Mr McEachran simply commented: "As your Lordship pleases."

Margaret McTear, of Beith, Ayrshire, has continued a case originally
raised in the Court of Sessions by her husband, Alfred, before his death
in 1993 at the age of 48. It is against Imperial Tobacco, maker of
cigarettes which Mr McTear smoked.

In October last year, Lord Nimmo Smith began hearing evidence in the
case. It is understood that it is the first time on this side of the
Atlantic that an attempt to sue a tobacco giant has reached such an
advanced stage.

Whilst not impugning Mr Wilson's motive in writing to him Lord Nimmo
said: "What I find reprehensible is that Mr Wilson should have become
involved at all. This can only have been designed to put pressure on me
to issue my decision sooner than I might otherwise do. I regard this as
wholly improper. The clear implication is that I have not been applying
myself as diligently as I should to my judicial duties."

Source: The Scotsman, The Herald, daily Record, 1 December 2004



Ireland: Dramatic fall in cigarette sales

Sales of cigarettes in the Irish Republic have dropped by almost a fifth
since the introduction of a smoking ban, it is claimed.

Finance Minister Brian Cowen has heralded the fall as evidence that the
Government's "brave" move worked as a public health initiative.

New Government tax estimates from the Finance Department showed
consumption of cigarettes is expected to drop by 17.6 percent this year,
after Exchequer receipts from tobacco fell 16.2 percent in the first 10
months of this year.

Yet Mr Cowen refused to rule out further excise duty increases on
cigarettes in the forthcoming Budget.

Gerry McElwee, head of cancer prevention at Ulster cancer Foundation,
welcomed the fall in cigarette consumption. He said "Clearly, once
smoke-free public places are created, people smoke less."

The number of smokers has been falling steadily from 31 percent of the
population in 1998 to about 24 percent last year.

Source: Irish News, November 26 2004


Convenience stores ponder smoking ban

The Government's plans to ban smoking in the workplace in England and
Wales by 2007 will have implications for convenience stores.

The White Paper on Public Health plans to make most enclosed public
areas smoke-free. Only private clubs, where members have voted to permit
smoking, and pubs that do not serve food, will be exempt.

Retailer Tim Bhullar, who owns Costcutter in Burmantofts, Leeds hailed
the ban as an overdue measure: "We don't allow staff to smoke - they
have to go outside. However, every day we get customers coming in with
their cigarettes, even though there's a sign on the door. It will be
much easier to ask them to leave when they're actually unlawful," he
said.

He added: "My daughter's asthmatic and I'm always asking people in
public spaces if they'd mind not smoking."

Source: Convenience Store, 3 December 2004


Edinburgh students applaud University's tobacco divestment

The President of Edinburgh University Students Association has written
of his support for the decision taken by the university to sell all its
shares in the tobacco industry.

Steve Cockburn described the move as "progressive" and labelled it a
"positive use of the University's 'socially responsible investment' in
relation to a less then socially responsible industry."

Mr Cockburn continued: "Lung cancer is Britain's single biggest killer.
Tobacco companies have faced numerous accusations of irresponsible
behaviour from poor treatment of workers and inappropriate marketing in
the developing world to smuggling and undermining academic research."

He ends his letter with the hope that the stance taken will provide an
example of best practice from which students and the broader academic
community can take encouragement from.

Source: Holyrood, 22 November 2004


Shock ads: It pays to be offensive

Marketing Week reports that shock tactics remains an effective method of
communicating a message to customers, providing the message itself is
serious in tone and content.

Research by QuickWise into consumers' reactions to potentially shocking
campaigns concluded that only 27 percent of respondents believed that
shock advertising had lost its impact. On the whole, it was found that
the use of such methods was justified.

Marketing Week cites, among other examples, the government anti-smoking
campaign of fat building up in the arteries, with an 84 percent rating
for its effectiveness.

Source: Marketing Week, 2 December 2004


Guilty pleasures

Commenting on the Government's smoking ban, Daily Telegraph pubs writer
Adam Edwards thinks the legislation will only prolong smoking's illicit
appeal.

"The quick fag in the bushes while bunking off from games, the illicit
hit of nicotine from a fag left smouldering in an ashtray and the hidden
stogy cupped in the hand were an integral slice of our teenage
sedition," Mr Edwards waxed in wistful, nostalgic prose.

Source: Morning Advertiser, 2 December 2004

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Harold Wilson
ASH
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London EC2A 4HW
http://www.ash.org.uk
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