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ASH Daily news for 13 June 2011

HEADLINES

  • ASH Scotland: Ban reversal would be toxic

    Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, insists that Smoke-free public place laws must remain.

    Paul Waterson of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) has missed the point of smoke-free legislation (Evening News, June 6). It wasn't about stinging eyes and clothes smelling, it was about reducing people's exposure to a toxic substance in enclosed public places.

    As well as being widely supported in terms of both public opinion and compliance, Scotland's smoke-free legislation has delivered major and proven health benefits. 

    Source: The Scotsman - 11 June 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/mkOQcL

  • Croydon: Man attacked with bottle after refusing to hand over cigarette

    A tattooed thug punched a man and smashed a bottle over his head in an early morning attack after being refused a cigarette.

    Police said the 27-year-old needed stitches after being assaulted outside a bar in High Street, Croydon.

    Source: This is Local London - 12 June 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ikypFe

  • Abbott calls for smoke-free Olympics

    The Shadow Public Health Minister, Diane Abbott MP, has urged people in Hackney to back her campaign to make the London 2012 Olympics smoke-free.

    Ms Abbott has tabled a question in the House of Commons and writing to Lord Coe and Boris Johnson.

    Ms Abbott said: “I think it would send out a great message if the Olympic Games were completely smoke-free. We have worked hard to bring the Olympic Games to Britain. It should be a time in which we take a lead and showcase what Britain is about to the rest of the world. Hackney will host a third of the Games area, and I am determined that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is something that the people of Hackney will be proud of.

    “I think that people can manage without a fag for the few hours that they are in the Olympic Park. Some people do not get to smoke all day because their offices are smoke-free zones.

    “Will the Olympic park be tobacco-free indoors and out? Public health advocates have been urging LOCOG to make the London Olympics tobacco-free since 2009.

    “LOCOG has so far done nothing to publicise a commitment to this, and the opportunity to promote a tobacco-free Olympics is slipping away. LOCOG must take the lead on this, urgently.

    “Alongside Ireland, New York and Norway, the last British Labour government showed leadership in bringing about real change on tobacco control.’

    “We introduced the smoking ban in pubs and enclosed spaces, ended sports sponsorship and billboard advertising, raised the legal age of purchasing cigarettes and put graphic warnings on cigarette packs.

    “We often had to push on with these policies against industry and public opinion. I think the Olympic Games is, again, a chance to take a lead on this.”

    Source: The Voice - 10 June 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/iLwpQH

  • Gates Foundation forms alliance against smoking in China

    Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and chairman of Microsoft, and Robin Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Baidu Inc., formed a strategic alliance on June 11 in Beijing to promote healthy lifestyles and create a smoke-free environment both in China and around the world.

    The alliance will carry out educational campaign through all channels of media to promote self-awareness of leading a healthy life. Meanwhile it also aims to help the smokers to quit smoking as soon as possible through persuasion and education.

    Gates and Li both wore a green T-shirt with the words "Say No to Second-hand Smoking" 

    Source: People's Daily - 13 June 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/m8yVwL

  • Pakistan: Federal tobacco control cell being abolished

    The prayers of the tobacco industry for the abolition of the Tobacco Control Cell are about to be met. Set up in 2007 in the Ministry of Health, the Tobacco Control Cell had gradually started to take the shape of a national focal point for tobacco control activities in the country, bringing  in new anti-tobacco regulations.

    Source working with Ministry of Health has revealed that there is scant hope that the Tobacco Control Cell will survive the devolution process. He said “as the tobacco lobby is very strong, there is hardly much interest within the Ministry of Health to strengthen tobacco regulatory process in spite of all the commitments made by Pakistan under The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)”.  

    Source: Pakistan Observer - June 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/jz3le6