HEADLINES

• Films that 'encourage smoking' claim £338m in UK tax credits
• Smoking is drug taking and should be banned, warns anti-doping chief
• Scotland: Prisoner's writ over smoke in cells affecting his human rights could cost taxpayers £16m
• Blackburn man jailed for setting his girlfriend on fire
• Swedish city eyes far-reaching smoking ban
• Taiwan: Taipei to recruit anti-smoking volunteers

• Films that 'encourage smoking' claim £338m in UK tax credits

   

  Health experts have accused the government of spending more on subsidising American films that contain smoking scenes than on anti-tobacco campaigns.

  Researchers at Imperial College London calculated that between 2003 and 2009, £338m of tax credits in Britain went to US-produced films with imagery "promoting" tobacco use.

  Foreign film-makers receive 16% tax relief against their British production costs if more than a quarter of their budget is spent in Britain. More than three-quarters of British film subsidies go to US production companies.

  Source: The Guardian - 27 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/oyhYHH

• Smoking is drug taking and should be banned, warns anti-doping chief

  A leading anti-doping expert is recommending that nicotine be added to the list of banned substances for sportsmen. 

  This would mean an end to scenes like last month at Royal St George's, where Ulsterman Darren Clarke smoked his way through four rounds to win The Golf Open.

  The campaign for a ban is being led by Olivier Rabin, sports director of WADA, the world anti-doping agency.

  He claims to have extensive evidence that nicotine is a stimulant that can be used to boost athletes' performance. And he is recommending that WADA create new sanctions.

  A grey area could be the issue of passive smoking. Many caddies chain-smoke on the course, so what would happen to a player who was drug-tested after passively breathing in the smoke?

  Source: Daily Mail - 28 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/rrmNVg

• Scotland: Prisoner's writ over smoke in cells affecting his human rights could cost taxpayers £16m

  Mahmood Qadri’s anti-smoking writ could end up costing Scots taxpayers up to £16million.

  Qadri, who was convicted for child abuse, claims his human dignity has been infringed by passive smoking behind bars.

  Papers lodged at Glasgow Sheriff Court claim he suffered “significant and prolonged physical and mental distress” after being forced to share a cell with smokers.

  Qadri, 63, wants £10,000 compensation and human rights experts last night warned his test case, if successful, could lead to a flood of claims from non-smoking inmates.

  There are an estimated 1600 non-smokers among Scotland’s 7800 prison population. If they are awarded similar compensation, the final bill could top £16million.

  Qadri, an ex-mosque teacher, says he made several complaints about having to share cells with smokers at prisons in Edinburgh and Dumfries but “no prompt action” was taken to resolve the issue.

  His court papers claim: “At times he found it difficult to breathe.

  “The smoke caused him to cough, he found it difficult to sleep and would hold his blanket over his face at night to try to avoid breathing in the smoke. The pursuer found it extremely ­uncomfortable and distressing to be ­subjected for such ­considerable periods of time to passive smoking.

  “He suffered significant physical and mental distress due to prolonged periods of exposure to passive smoking.”

  Qadri’s compensation bid follows a European Court of Human Rights ruling in favour of a murderer in Romania.

  Anesti Elefteriadis claimed his health was damaged over six years locked up with three smokers. He was awarded £3450. Scottish ministers are battling Qadri’s compensation claim.

  Source: Daily Record - 28 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/ovKmFX

• Blackburn man jailed for setting his girlfriend on fire

  A woman has spoken of the devastation caused to her life after she was set on fire by her boyfriend in an ‘horrific’ attack.

  Belinda Fay told how she had suffered nightmares and had been left with ‘terrible’ injuries and permanent scars after Christopher Smalley set her alight.

  The 20-year-old, who lives in Darwen, said she regretted the moment she ever met Smalley, who attacked her when she refused to get him a cigarette.

  Smalley, 20, of Cockridge Close, Blackburn, who twice poured lighter fluid on Belinda’s jumper and put a flame to it, was jailed for three years at Preston Crown Court yesterday.

  Source: This is Lancashire - 27 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/pwXfvv

• Swedish city eyes far-reaching smoking ban

  Authorities in a Swedish city say they are considering a smoking ban for city employees during working hours, even if they are working from home.

  Under the ban being considered by Landskrona in southern Sweden, city staffers would not be allowed to go onto the street during group coffee breaks that are common practice in many Swedish workplaces.

  Source: UPI - 26 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/qOmQwb

• Taiwan: Taipei to recruit anti-smoking volunteers

  The Taipei city government has launched a campaign to recruit anti-smoking volunteers in cooperation with the John Tung Foundation.

  The drive is part of the city's efforts to promote a healthy image and move toward a smoke-free environment, the city's health department said.

  To protect the public and foreign visitors from the harm caused by second-hand smoke, Lin Ching-li, chief of the foundation's tobacco control division, urged people under the age of 65 to join the campaign, in which they will receive professional training in how to discourage smoking at tourist attractions and other public places.

  Source: Focus Taiwan - 29 August 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/p8Quwi