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ASH Daily News

Thursday 14 October, 1999

Headlines

Philip Morris starts TV ad campaign to change image
No Smoking lessons at four
‘Black cabs to be made smoke free zones’
BMJ News & Links
More Coverage of the Public Places Charter

Full Text

Philip Morris starts TV ad campaign to change image

The ‘admission’ by Philip Morris that “there is an overwhelming
medical and scientific consensus that cigarette smoking causes lung
cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases in
smokers” dominates the newspapers.

President Clinton said: “This formal acknowledgement comes far too
late, but still we must all welcome it. He added “It certainly makes
clear, as I have said for years, the tobacco companies should answer
for their actions in court, they should stop marketing their products
to children, certainly they should do more to reduce youth smoking”

In the Wall Street Journal Europe, William D. Novelli, president of
the campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said, “If we can keep them
perceived as pariahs in America, then we’ve got a much better chance
of forcing them into reform’.

It was “ a diversionary tactic” said Cliff Douglas of Tobacco Law and
Policy Consulting, “to redirect the public’s attention away from the
addictive and lethal nature of the company’s products”.

In the Express Amanda Sandford, of ASH, dismissed the u-turn as
“cynical spin doctoring” and called for the company to back its words
up with real actions. Amanda added, “All these admissions demonstrate
is that they have spent years defending the indefensible”.

The Financial Times views it as part of a strategy to head off “juror
rage” and to reposition itself in order to fend off attempts to bring
in more regulation.

Source: The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, The Express
and all other newspapers, 14 October 1999.
Links:
http://www.philipmorris.com/tobacco_bus/tobacco_issues/health_issues.h
tml


No Smoking lessons at four

Children should be told about the dangers of smoking before they are
old enough to begin experimenting with cigarettes, according to a new
report.

The report from the NHS Centre for dissemination and Research based at
the University of York, claims that attitudes may already be formed by
the time children reach the age of 11 when they are targeted by
anti-smoking programmes. It suggests ‘starting campaigns with four
year olds’ reports the Daily Telegraph.

For more details e-mail: revdis@york.ac.uk

Source: The Daily Telegraph, 14 October 1999

‘Black cabs to be made smoke free zones’

‘First, it was trains, then planes, now its automobiles. Government
plans outlined yesterday that last refuge of the smoker, the black
taxi, is set to become a cigarette-free zone’ writes Paul Waugh.

The report continues ‘Dodging accusations of Nanny Blairism, Transport
Minister, Keith Hill, launched a consultation document’which includes
measures to allow cabbies to enforce their right to a no-smoking cab
and to use no-smoking signage.

Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative Transport Secretary, claimed the
measures represented ‘the ridiculous state interference into ordinary
people’s lives.’

Source: The Independent, The Mirror, 14 October 1999

Tobacco industry pins hopes on health chief

John Carlisle, of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, believes the
new health minister may be more sympathetic to their cause. “I would
hope that with this secretary of state we might get a better balance
and a better understanding of our problems”.

Rothmans is apparently one of the larger employers in Alan Milburn’s
constituency. Carlisle said: “He cannot block his ears to the fact
that a considerable body of people in his constituency are employed in
the tobacco industry.”

The Department of Health however has said: “He is just as determined
to get the ban on tobacco advertising through and it will go ahead as
planned on December 10”.

Source: Marketing Week, 14 October 1999

News from BMJ

‘Behavioural counselling in general practice for the promotion of
healthy behaviour among adults at increased risk of coronary heart
disease’ is the title of the latest report.

The report concludes that ‘brief behavioural counselling by practice
nurses led to improvements in healthy behaviour. More extended
counselling to help patients sustain and build on behaviour changes
may be required before differences in biological risk factors emerge.’

Source: BMJ Vol. 319, 9 October 1999
Link: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7215/943

Failure of an intervention to stop teenagers smoking

Donald Reid, writes that ‘Given the recent upturn in teenage smoking,1
would the innovative West Midlands prevention programme, described in
this week's issue (p 948)2 be the magic bullet so many have been
waiting for? Alas, as the authors have convincingly shown, it turned
out to be a blank. This is not surprising, since the methods used did
not appear to correspond with the findings from decades of research
into "effective" antismoking programmes for schools.

The article continues that ‘Successful programmes have usually been
based on the social influences theory, which involves persuading
teenagers to develop the skills and commitment to resist cigarettes’.3

He concludes that: ‘ There are no magic bullets to be found in school
antismoking programmes: the methods that worked in the early trials
had a delaying effect only,5 and none have been capable of
dissemination on a large scale. Is it too much to hope that this
experiment marks the end of attempts to find a quick fix, school based
solution to the problem of teenage smoking? If it is, these
disappointing findings will be of greater benefit to public health
than they appear.’


Link: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/319/7215/934


‘Customs seeks high-tech retail solution to bootlegging.’

‘Customs & Excise is to ask the government to stump up millions of
pounds for high-tech vehicle x-ray machines to make it easier to spot
vehicles bringing bootlegged goods into the country’ writes the
Independent Retail News

The article continues ‘Customs will tell the Treasury that it would
soon claw back the cost of machines from the extra duty it collects.’

The smuggling hotline is: 0800 595000

There is a also a letter from a shopowner in Cornwall outlining their
concerns about the effect on smuggling in the workplace and a profile
on the custom’s officer who led a nationwide ‘Operation Strike’
against some retailers who were consistently selling smuggled
products.

There is further coverage of the retailer, Anne Rampton, who was
cleared of selling cigarettes to an underage boy because the
magistrates court, at Aylesbury, accepted her claim that her assistant
had made a genuine mistake by selling cigarettes to a 14 year old 5ft
11 year old boy.

Finally, the paper notes that the ‘fake citizen cards’ that were
being sold over the internet have been withdrawn.

Source: The Independent Retail News, 8 October 1999.

More Coverage of the Public Places Charter

Restaurant Business writes that ‘ The Restaurant Association is urging
all restaurateurs to fully adopt the new Public Places Charter on
Smoking in the Public Places Charter. RA Chief Executive, Ian
Mckerracher described it as “a shining example of what happened
industry and government work together effectively”.

Letters: Phil Rimmer, of ASH, responds to comments by FOREST in the
Licensee. “The purpose of the Charter is to improve customer choice
and it on this that it will be judged. In order to facilitate this,
ASH is calling for targets to be set.

In a Letter to the Publican, Phil writes ‘I’m sure that it would make
FOREST’s life a lot easier if it could portray ASH as anti-smoking
fanatics. However the fact is that we want to work with the pub trade
to make the chart a success.’

Environmental Health News, however, argues that the charter could be a
‘smoke-screen’ to ‘avoid proper legislation.

Source: Restaurant Business October, 1999. The Licensee, The
Publican, 11 October 1999, Environmental Health News, 24 Septemeber
1999.

Links: http://www.cieh.org.uk/about/policy


Karl Brookes
Project Manager
102 Clifton Street
London EC2A 4HW
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