HEADLINES

• Scotland: Delay in cigarette vending machines ban
• Tobacco cash bad for your moral health, Durham University told
• Cambridge: Man stubs cigarette out on woman's face at fast-food van
• Wales: Smoking ban for hospital grounds
• Smoke and minors: Teenage girls and smoking
• Argentina: Law targets smoking in enclosed public spaces
• Editorial: A win in the fight against smoking in Australia

• Scotland: Delay in cigarette vending machines ban

  A ban on sales of tobacco products from vending machines was to be implemented from October 1. However, due to the ongoing legal challenges, the Scottish Government has reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is no longer possible to introduce the ban on that day.

  A new date for its introduction will be announced in due course.

  Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said:

  "Scotland needs decisive action to improve our health as a nation and discourage people from smoking. Evidence shows that many young people obtain cigarettes from vending machines, which is why we remain committed to banning cigarette sales from vending machines. This, alongside a comprehensive package of measures, will help dissuade a future generation of smokers.

  "Two legal challenges against the vending machine sales ban have already been dismissed, however, in view of appeal proceedings, we feel it is prudent to defer the ban from the original implementation date to a date to be announced."

  Source: e-Gov Monitor - 03 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/kAP9Aw

• Tobacco cash bad for your moral health, Durham University told

  Durham University has been urged by a senior official at Cancer Research UK to return funding it received from British American Tobacco.

  The firm donated £125,000 to fund scholarships at Durham for women from Afghanistan, but in a blog on the CRUK website, Robin Hewings, the charity’s tobacco control policy manager, says that “the tobacco industry’s record means academic institutions should have nothing to do with it”.

  Mr Hewings argues that the industry “seeks to gain unwarranted respectability by association with credible bodies such as universities” and that “these kinds of donation aim to create an environment where there are soft government policies on tobacco”.

  The full blog post is available here.

  Source: Times Higher Education - 03 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/jM20WR

• Cambridge: Man stubs cigarette out on woman's face at fast-food van

  A man stubbed a cigarette out on a young woman’s face during a dispute at a fast-food van in Cambridge.

  The cruel attack on the 19-year-old victim happened when she was queuing at the Trailer of Life in Market Hill. An argument broke out between her and a man, also in the queue.

  When the victim threw a cigarette she had been smoking on the floor, the man picked it up and pressed it into her cheek. He then got hold of an egg and threw it at her head.

  Source: Cambridge News - 03 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/klm6F0

• Wales: Smoking ban for hospital grounds

  Smoking will be banned in the grounds of all hospitals in Gwent - with the probable exception of the Royal Gwent - by the end of March next year.

  A ban already exists for all hospitals and health board premises in Gwent and a ban on smoking in the grounds already exists at the new Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan, at Ebbw Vale.

  Health boards across Wales have been drawing up and implementing proposals for smoke-free hospital grounds and the policy is a high profile one for the NHS in Wales and the Welsh Government.

  The health board's 19-page report detailing its smoke-free grounds proposal emphasises the importance of the organisation setting an example by discouraging smoking and promoting health and well being to patients and the public.

  Source: Campaign Series - 02 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/kld9gu

• Smoke and minors: Teenage girls and smoking

  More teenage girls smoke than boys. Anne Karpf examines whether it could be because the tobacco industry plays on their desire to look fun, feel confident and stay thin?

  Source: The Guardian - 03 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/iIzHKV

• Argentina: Law targets smoking in enclosed public spaces

  Legislators in Argentina have voted to ban smoking in all enclosed public spaces, as part of a comprehensive series of anti-tobacco measures.

  The legislation will ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship. It will also force manufacturers to put public health warnings on cigarette packets.

  It will become illegal to sell cigarettes to under-18s, and the practice of selling single cigarettes will end.

  The measure aims to end smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces.

  People will still be able to smoke in places like patios, balconies and terraces, unless they are situated in schools or hospitals.

  Those who break the law will face fines worth the equivalent of between 250 and 1,000,000 packets of the most expensive cigarettes on the market.

  Source: BBC News - 02 June 2011
  Link: http://bbc.in/lry8sF

• Editorial: A win in the fight against smoking in Australia

  It was a long time coming - too long - but the federal Coalition is to be congratulated for declaring its support for the introduction of plain packaging of cigarettes in Australia. It appeared that the government would have been able to pass its legislation anyway, with the backing of the cross-benchers and some Liberal MPs who had vowed to follow their consciences and cross the floor of Parliament if their party had resolved to vote against the bill.

  But it would have been an unsatisfactory outcome for an important public health advance to be introduced in the face of opposition from the alternative government. Australia's move to implement some of the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world will now have bipartisan support, and that is as it should be.

  Source: Sydney Morning Herald - 02 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/jecbYe