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ASH Daily News

10 November 2004

HEADLINES

Researchers welcome obesity pill trials
Scottish publicans to contest smoking ban
Nurses get help to quit smoking
Smokers - killing your staff or keeping business alive?
An old soldier fighting to smoke


FULL TEXT

Researchers welcome obesity pill trials

Researchers have welcomed the latest results from trials of a pill which treats obesity, tackles cholesterol levels and helps patients quit smoking.

Rimonabant, which could be available in the UK within 18 months, targets the part of the brain associated with motivation and controlling appetite.

The results derive from a two-year trial, and were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in New Orleans. The findings showed that patients taking a 20mg dose had seen their body weight drop and waist measurements decrease.

David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, described the arrival of the drug in Britain as a "mouth-watering prospect" for GPs.

Source: Guardian, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Telegraph, 10 November 2004


Scottish publicans to contest smoking ban

Scottish publicans have warned that they will mount vigorous opposition to the introduction of a smoking ban.

The Scottish executive is expected to confirm today that it intends to proceed with a complete ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants and workplaces. Offenders who flout the rules face fines of up to £3,600.

Jack McConnell, Scotland's first minister was initially doubtful about the need for a complete ban. However, a fact-finding trip to Ireland, where smoking in pubs was banned earlier this year, toughened his position.

Smoking related illnesses kills 13,000 Scots a year and leads to thousands more hospital admissions.

The Scottish executive has also been encouraged by overwhelming support from the medical establishment, such as Peter Terry, chairman of the BMA in Scotland. Cancer Research UK has also paid for a number of ads in Scottish newspapers advocating a full ban.

In a letter to the executive, written as part of the public consultation on a smoking ban, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland said whilst it was not against curbs on smoking, its officers should play no part in enforcing it.

Source: Financial Times, 10 November 2004
Article: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e503299c-32bc-11d9-8498-00000e2511c8.html


Nurses get help to quit smoking

Nurses are to receive targeted help to quit smoking and make them models for patients as part of the public health White Paper, published next week.

The campaign will be launched in conjunction with the Royal College of Nursing. It excludes the 210,000 nursing auxiliary workforce who administer frontline nursing care alongside their 360,000 qualified counterparts.

Support for nurses may include a dedicated helpline, improved access to nicotine replacement therapies and support groups.

The new chief nursing officer Christine Beasley said: "There are lots of people who want to stop smoking, so how can we do it so that, coincidentally, they become role models?"

A Department of Health spokesman said the government was targeting nurses because "too many nurses smoke". However, it transpires that there are no government figures to highlight the scale of the problem.

Source: Guardian, 10 November 2004


Smokers - killing your staff or keeping business alive?

A number of letters in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper pledge support for the trade publication's continuing campaign to end smoking in public places.

Andy Scott from London says he was "horrified" going into a pub with poor ventilation, upon returning to the UK after studying Hotel Management in California. "People just won't realise the difference until it (a ban) happens," he notes. "I have recently moved to London and dread the idea of having to work in a smoke-infested environment in an industry that I love so much.

The Caterer also reports findings which indicate that restaurants could boost their turnover if a smoking ban in the workplace was introduced. A survey by American Express Establishment Services, found that almost half (47 %) of the public attending the Taste of London 2004 culinary festival would eat out more if there were a smoking ban.

Only 17 percent of those questioned by American Express believed they were less likely to dine out because a restaurant was smoke-free.

To further emphasise their smoke-free stance, the Caterer reports that a Greene King pub in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire has seen its sales shoot up 40 percent since converting to a smoke-free venue in April: "I think you need to consider carefully who your clientele are, as I don't think going smoke-free is right for all.
But if you do a lot of food I'd fully recommend it," said Steve Dell, manager of the Garrick Inn.

Source: Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 4 November 2004


An old soldier fighting to smoke

Magnus Linklater, in an intractable and defiant article to the Times' opinion page, resents the anticipated smoking ban in Scotland.

In countering the "insubordination" of smokers, Mr Linklater says that smoke-free campaigners such as ASH use an array of figures that show passive smoking, as well as direct inhalation, can be damaging to health.
"They claim that it may cause 1,000 deaths in Britain a year, and they may be right," observes MR Linklater. "What they cannot prove, however, is how many of these deaths are caused by smoking in pubs, and how many by smoking at home. They know full well that a ban on smoking in public places will do nothing to protect those who are greatest risk - and that is children."

He concludes by saying: "Politicians should realise that they have no right to intrude into people's private lives."

Article link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-1351835,00.html

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Harold Wilson
ASH
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