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Saturday 11 - Monday 13 December, 1999

ASH Daily News

Headlines

‘Anti-smoking drive in chaos’
‘Killer that shames Britain’
‘Pubs put up smokescreens to deflect law’
‘Stub it out in the sun’
‘Trucker returns home’

Full Text

‘Anti-smoking drive in chaos’

The Observer’s health correspondent, Anthony Browne, writes, ‘The
Government’s biggest anti-smoking campaign was in chaos last night
after it emerged that the company hired to organise it has strong
links to the tobacco industry – and had even been involved in selling
cigars – prompting leading cancer charities to announce that they were
boycotting the drive.’

The article further reports that the, ‘campaign, ‘Don’t Give Up,
Giving Up’ is based around a new telephone helpline operated by the
company Broad System, which until a few weeks ago sold cigars over the
phone for Imperial Tobacco. Anthony Browne further writes that, ‘It is
also a wholly owned subsidiary of News International, whose major
shareholder, Rupert Murdoch…is a director of Philip Morris.’

Cancer Research Campaign, The Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the
British Heart Foundation – three of the five largest charities in the
UK – wrote a joint letter last week to the Health Secretary, Alan
Milburn, saying ‘We…have strong ethical policies preventing us from
working with tobacco-connected organisations’.

A spokesperson for the Cancer Research Campaign said: “It puts us in a
hideous position. We’ve worked hard to be whiter than white. It would
be a nonsense for us to work with a company with tobacco-related
links”.

The CRC is threatening not to refer enquiries to the government
helpline, nor to distribute the campaign leaflets.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “Murdoch’s
membership of the board of Philip Morris is irrelevant. To suggest we’
re in collusion with the tobacco industry is an outrageous slur.”

The article reports that Kevin Barron, MP, ‘believes the switch in
numbers will confuse people, so there will be a fall-off in calls’. He
said: “It’s inevitable in the short term it will backfire’.

The charity, No-Smoking Day, is reported as having spent £100,000
printing literature with the old number on.

One official of the Health Education Authority is reported as saying:
“It will cost lives”.

Source: The Observer, 12 December 1999

‘Killer that shames Britain’

Britain lags behind every other Western European country in almost all
aspects of the treatment of heart disease, according to a survey by
the European Society of Cardiology.

The article continues that fewer pacemakers are fitted than in almost
any other country – with only around 200 for every million people,
compared with around 500 in Germany, 600 in France and 700 in Belgium.

‘Britain is near the bottom of the league’, said the report’s author,
Dr Eric Boersma.

The article continues, ‘Sir Charles George, Medical Director of the
British Heart Foundation, reckoned that copying the best practices of
other countries would save more than 20,000 lives each year.’

Source: The Observer, 12 December 1999

‘Pubs put up smokescreens to deflect law’

British landlords are voluntarily introducing no-smoking areas into
pubs in a bid to head off the threat of legislation to enforce tobacco
free zones.

Publicans are embracing voluntary restrictions out of a fear of the
type of ‘heavy handed regulations’ that have been imposed in the US
and Canada.

Bob Cartwright of Bass said, “Everyone sees it as a sensible way
forward. We are looking at our programme of investment and will
shortly announce the amount we are planning to spend on ducting and
air cleaning.”

Tim Hampson of the Brewers & Licensed Retailers Associations believes
pubs must accept voluntary arrangements as the alternative could be
disastrous, “We are keen advocates that all pubs should have clear
policies to allow space for both smokers and non-smokers and are very
much against the idea of laws being laid down.”

Amanda Sandford of ASH, said: “We think it’s a good move, but are
concerned that it could be allowed to drag on indefinitely with no
real progress. We want to see clear targets in place.”

The article also mentions the Smoke Free Staffordshire Alliance
report, that showed pubs with non-smoking areas boosted their takings
by 7%.

Source: Sunday Business, 12 December 1999

‘Stub it out in the sun’

There is coverage of a holiday that is designed to help smokers quit
for the millennium. Airglobe Holidays (0207 813 1122) is running a
seven-night Stop Smoking package to Cyprus. The package costs £645.

Source: Planet on Sunday, Mail on Sunday, 12 December 1999

‘Trucker returns home’

Lorry driver Eddie Belfield is finally home. British customs cleared
him two years ago of failing to pay tax but ‘red tape’ kept him locked
up abroad for an extra eight months. He was originally arrested after
he drove through Europe, with a load of cigarettes that a former boss
had failed to pay the tax on.

Source: Daily Star, 13 December, 1999

Karl Brookes
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