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ASH Daily news for 01 July 2010

HEADLINES

  • Most smokers now support ban

    At least half of smokers support the current smoking ban according to poll published on the third anniversary of England’s smokefree public places law.

    The poll, conducted by YouGov for anti-smoking organisation ASH suggests that support for the law has doubled since it was introduced in 2007. Overall 81% of all adults believe the smokefree legislation is good for their health, with 91% of never-smokers believing this to be the case and 50% of daily smokers (40% of daily smokers disagree).

    There is also substantial support among smokers for further restrictions on smoking:

    •61% of smokers support a ban on smoking in cars with children (in the general population, 77% support a ban)
    •49% of smokers support a ban on smoking in children’s play areas (in the general population, 73% support a ban)
    •21% of smokers support further restrictions on smoking at the entrances and exits of public buildings
    (in the general population, 67% support further restrictions)
     

    Research recently published in the BMJ showed that in the 12 months following the implementation of the smoking ban, there was a 'small but significant' 2.4% drop in the number of heart attacks in England resulting in 12,000 fewer admissions to hospital saving, according to Ash, the NHS £8.4 million.

    Has the hospitality industry suffered as a result of smokefree regulations? The evidence suggest not. ASH say more people are visiting pubs since the legislation.
     

  • Thousands give up smoking in Chorley area

    Oover 3,000 people have given up smoking in Central Lancashire over the past 12 months, according to figures from the NHS.

    The team at the NHS Central Lancashire Stop Smoking Service encourage smokers in Chorley and the surrounding area to set a quit date and help them to find ways of making the journey towards being smoke free as easy as possible.

    Tracy Murdoch, NHS Central Lancashire clinical co-ordinator, said: “The team has worked so hard this year to make the services as accessible as possible for people with busy working lives, children and families to care for.

    “The more choices that we can give people, the easier it is for them to make time to concentrate on winning the battle.”

    Source: The Citizen, 30 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/axqSIo

  • Bournemouth beach cliff on fire after cigarette sparks huge flames

    An incredible cliff fire lit up the night sky as flames leap 20ft into the air. Hundreds of people gathered to watch the inferno at Bournemouth that also cast a glow over a long line of beach huts.

    The blaze could be seen by ships out at sea. Amateur photographer Rob Ferns said: “Firemen worked really hard to control it.” Around 34 firefighters spent several hours bringing the blaze under control. It is believed the fire on the 100ft cliff was started by a discarded cigarette or small barbecue.

    Gaynor Mant, of Dorset Fire and Rescue, said: “The ground is bone dry at this time of year and people really need to be careful with cigarettes and barbecues and how they dispose of them.”

    Source: The Mirror, 30 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/d3tiyq

  • Smoking pregnant increases baby's asthma risk: Study

    Smoking during pregancy increases the risk of a baby developing asthma up to sixfold, a Swedish study published at the European Respiratory Society's annual congress found.

    The study by Professeur Anders Bjerg of the Sunderby central hospital in Norrbotten and his specialists showed that smoking leads to babies being born underweight, a fact that has an impact on the development of asthma.

    The Swedish doctors studied asthma in about 3,400 children between 1996 and 2008.

    The study found that babies of smoking mothers had an average weight of 211 grammes (7.44 ounces) less than those of mothers who do not smoke.

    Nearly a quarter (24.3 percent) of smoking mothers' babies weighed less than 2.5 kilogrammes at birth against 4.1 percent for those of non-smoking women.

    In underweight children of women who smoked throughout their pregnancy the asthma risk was at 23.5 percent, against 7.7 percent in children of non-smoking mothers who were born with an average weight.

    Source: Ottawa Citizen, 16 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/aLZW3r

  • Australia: New South Wales display ban underway

    Cigarettes will be required to be hidden from sight at small shops in New South Wales (NSW) from Thursday under the next phase of the state government's tobacco reforms.

    Large retailers have already been required to remove cigarettes from display, but small retailers - those with 50 or fewer employees - must comply with the ban from July 1.

    Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) Frank Sartor said the reforms were aimed at reducing the prevalence of smoking in the community.

    "All retailers need to ensure that tobacco products and smoking accessories are not visible to the public from inside or outside the premises," Mr Sartor said.

    "This reform means that children and young people will no longer be exposed to tobacco products in retail settings, reducing the likelihood of them being viewed as ordinary consumables."

    Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 01 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/apIZW9

  • Netherlands is told to get tough on smokers as cancer mortality stagnates

    The Netherlands needs the political will to do more to tackle smoking, experts on tobacco control urged at an international conference in The Hague this week. The call came as the latest figures show numbers of deaths from cancer and levels of smoking higher than the European average.

    The Dutch organisation Stivoro, the tobacco control expertise centre that hosted the conference together with the Dutch National Cancer Control Programme, called for a new direction for tobacco control.

    The conference heard that more incisive messages about the consequences of smoking and more awareness about the influence of the tobacco industry were needed. Only then would smoking become less "normal" and the Netherlands properly fulfil its commitments under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

    Measures proposed included replacing the written warnings on cigarette packets with graphic ones and increasing the tax on relatively cheap rolling tobacco.

    Source: BMJ, 18 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/axLf9u

  • Ireland: 600,000 smuggled cigarettes seized

    A total of 600,000 smuggled cigarettes have been seized in Dromiskin in Co Louth.

    Customs officers and gardaí raided premises on the Commons Road in the village and made the discovery.

    It has also emerged that a total of 5m smuggled cigarettes were recovered from a lorry on the Republic side of the Louth-Armagh border following a raid near the village of Meigh.

    Source: RTE News, 30 June 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cfilcM