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ASH Daily News for 13 December 2007

Germany: Bavaria bans smoking  

Germany's southern state of Bavaria has announced legislation banning smoking in public placess and restaurants.

According to a spokesman for the regional parliament, the smoking ban, will take effect on January 1, 2008.

The Bavarian law is said to be the toughest in Germany and goes further than anti-tobacco regulations in the rest of the country by not allowing smoking sections inside restaurants.

Germany has long lagged behind other European nations in terms of anti-smoking laws but in September implemented a country wide ban on smoking in administration buildings and on public transport.

Source: AFP, 13 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2nqrt2

Japan: Study finds that smokers' wives have higher cancer risk

A new study has found that women whose husbands smoke at home have twice the risk of developing a specific type of lung cancer compared with women married to non smokers.  

The research team from the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry announced that  40 per cent of non smoking female cancer patients may not have contracted the disease if they had not been exposed to cigarette smoke at home.

The lung cancer in question, adenocarcinoma, is one that develops along the outer edges of the lung and under the membranes lining the bronchi. It is the most common type of lung cancer which has been increasing in the country.

The study was conducted on 28,000 non smoking women who were aged between 40 and 69 , over a period of 13 years from the early 1990s.

During the study, the researchers focused on 82 women who were diagnosed as having developed adenocarcinoma of the lung and they examined the relationship between the disease and their husbands' lifestyle, such as smoking habits.

The study showed that those whose husbands smoke at home have twice the risk of developing the cancer than those with non smoking spouses. 

The researchers found that women whose husband were classified as heavy smokers were 2.2 times more likely to develop adenocarcinoma of the lung and those married to light smokers were 1.7 times more likely to develop the cancer than those married to non smoking men.The study also found that the risk was 1.5 times greater for those women whose husbands had smoked in the past.

Source: Daily Yomiuri Online, 13 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2984bb

French ‘shisha bars’ fear smoke-free future

France's shisha bars have joined forces with traditional French cafes selling tobacco in a fight for survival in the face of new anti-smoking laws.

Campaigners say that unless the government relents, the smoking ban will spell the end of these exotic tea rooms, where customers puff apple or honey-scented tobacco from waterpipes.

In France, the threat of the ban has forged an alliance between shisha room operators and owners of traditional French "bar tabacs" against the government, which takes 64 per cent of the price of a packet of cigarettes in tax.

Shisha bar proprietors joined thousands of cafe owners or "buralistes" in a demonstration against the ban on November 21 and say they are determined to fight it for as long as possible. .

According to industry body UMIH, tea rooms offering shisha are firmly established in France, accounting for an estimated 800 of 46,000 cafes, bars and brasseries in the country.

Once mainly patronised by nostalgic older immigrants, shisha bars are increasingly popular among younger people who want an alternative to bars that serve alcohol.

Although they are often classified as tea rooms and serve small snacks, few believe shisha bars will be able to survive by selling tea and cakes alone.

Medical experts say shishas, which use a burning piece of charcoal to toast scented tobacco and then bubble the smoke through water, can have a more concentrated and harmful effect than other forms of smoking.

According to the World Health Organisation, a one-hour session with a waterpipe involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke from a single cigarette and poses a serious hazard to users and others exposed to the smoke.

Even supporters acknowledge its dangers but argue that as long as tobacco remains legal, there is no sense in applying a law aimed at cutting its harmful effects in bars and restaurants that exist solely for smoking.

A group of members of parliament proposed an amendment to the law to allow smoking in cafes that sell tobacco, a change that would cover the "bar tabacs" and shisha bars.

With the January 1 deadline approaching, the chances of a reprieve appear to be declining. 

A Health Ministry spokeswoman said, "The decision has been made. There will be no exception to the total ban on smoking, apart from on terraces."

Source: Middle East Online, 11 Deceme the source here
Link: http://tinyurl.com/35xolo

Pensioners fight smoke ban

A group of pensioners are hoping to gain legal aid to challenge the smoking ban.

Residents at Colwell Court in Dovecoat, Merseyside claim the ban has ruined their social life because they can no longer light up in the communal room.

Resident, Charles Lucas said, "There is no reason it should be classed as a public area, it's a private place, it belongs to us and we pay a service charge."

"If I get legal aid I'll go to court and let the judge decide. We all socialised together, we had a game of bingo and used to play cards, but we can't play cards anymore because we can't play and smoke."

Housing association CDS said Smoke Free England had advised that the communal room was deemed a public space.

Residents can smoke in their own rooms.

Source: The Morning Advertiser, 11 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/3anj6g

Restaurant smoking ban breach case adjourned

The case against Dave West, for flouting the smoking ban has been adjourned until March.

West, the owner of HeyJo club and designated premises supervisor (DPS) Mark Fraher were both summoned to court to face charges of failing to display no smoking signs and failing to advise customers to stop smoking.

The charges were brought by Westminster council.

HeyJo hit the headlines following 1 July, when it announced it had recruited the services of Cherie Blair to fight the smoking ban in the European Court of Human Rights.

Undercover environmental health officers visited the club and restaurant before the summons was served.

Club executive Harry Barnett said, ”We have made no secret of the fact that we are allowing smoking so why do they need to send in undercover officers at the taxpayers expense?”

Source: The Morning Advertiser, 12 December 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2lmsfl