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ASH Daily news for 07 October 2011

HEADLINES

  • Tory minister Crispin Blunt criticised for accepting lavish hospitality from tobacco giant

    Crispin Blunt was given VIP treatment at an England v India cricket test in the summer by Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns brands including Benson & Hedges.

    Anti-smoking campaigners said it was wrong for the justice minister to have accepted the gift, worth about £700, when the tobacco industry is lobbying against being forced to sell cigarettes in plain packets.

    Spokesman for anti-smoking charity ASH Martin Dockrell said: “The Government is bound by an international treaty to protect health policy from tobacco lobbying.

    “So it is odd that a Government minister should be taking hospitality from JTI, which makes four out of 10 cigarettes sold in the UK. Over the past few months we’ve seen the big tobacco lobby machine rolling into action.

    “When billions of pounds in profit are at stake, £700 is a small price to pay for a day out with a minister.”

    Mr Blunt’s trip to the Oval in August was revealed in the latest Commons Register of Financial Interests. He declared: “Hospitality – visit to the test match cricket at the Oval. Value: £694.80 (inc VAT).”

    Labour MP John Robertson said: “Politics should be clean of this kind of vested interest.”

    But he added: “I guess we shouldn’t be too shocked. After all Mr Blunt is a justice minister under Ken Clarke, a former director of British American Tobacco.”

    Mr Blunt said last night: “My commitment to cricket is well known. There was no identifiable conflict of interest. Advice was sought and appropriate declarations made.”

    Source: The Mirror - 07 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/navJSe

  • Campaign highlights ‘cruel’ smokers disease

    A thought-provoking new campaign is targeting smokers in South Tyneside, to highlight a cruel disease which can destroy their lungs.

    ‘Every breath’ aims to highlight the long-term effects of smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the umbrella term for emphysema and bronchitis, in a bid to encourage more people to quit smoking.

    Experts from anti-smoking campaigners Fresh have teamed up with the British Lung Foundation to run the scheme – which uses the lyrics of The Police’s 1983 hit.

    Together, they hope to challenge the assumption among smokers that shortness of breath and ‘smokers’ coughs’ are ‘normal’ for them.

    COPD is the UK’s fifth-biggest killer, costing the lives of more people than breast, bowel or prostate cancer every year.

    www.freshne.com/everybreath

    Source: The Shields Gazette - 07 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/nqV8rv

  • Vending Machines: Landlords key to cigarette buying

    A vending machine firm has been forced to develop a new system following the introduction of a ban on cigarette dispensers in public areas.

    R Duckworth Ltd has created a landlord-controlled vending machine to ensure no one below the age of 18 can purchase cigarettes illegally.

    Duckworth managing director Rod Bullough said: “We’ve created what we call ‘back bar vending’ which is legal and a totally new process in the pub trade.

    “The new system adheres to the Department of Health guidelines where the packet fronts aren’t on display and health warning decals are written on them and the landlord can age-check the person buying them.

    The ban was brought into effect on October 1 after being passed as part of the Health Bill in October 2009.

    Paul Noone, head of Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards service, said: “We welcome the new legislation because it clarifies the law.

    “In the past, the sale of tobacco products via vending machines has not been sufficiently managed or controlled by business.

    “Previous legislation was also unclear about who was responsible if an underage sale took place.”

    Source: The Blackpool Gazette - 06 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/nAUWrH

  • Liverpool Trading Standards snuff out ‘niche tobacco’ sales over health fears

    Trading Standards has cracked down on Liverpool shops selling tobacco products such as hookah pipes and chewing tobacco over health fears.

    So-called ‘niche’ tobaccos include chewing tobaccos called gutkha, zarda and khaini, which are sold widely amongst the ethnic communities in South Liverpool, can deliver a nicotine hit equivalent to 100 cigarettes.

    More than 1,100 of the products were sized from 20 shops in the area.

    The council said while some of the products are not burned like conventional tobaccos there are still health risks, and shops targeted as part of the investigation were singled out because they failed to display warnings.

    Source: Liverpool Echo - 07 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/qr7hWv

  • £285 . . . the cost of dropping a cigarette butt in Bath

    Litter bugs caught dropping cigarette butts on the streets of Bath have had to stump up £285.

    Bath and North East Somerset Council launched a crackdown on littering earlier this year and ordered uniformed enforcement officers to hand fixed penalty notices to those flouting the law.

    So far 218 such on-the-spot fines have been handed out this year, with 98 per cent of those for dropping cigarette butts.

    People who failed to pay the £75 fine are now being taking to court and the costs have mounted up.

    This week three people were ordered to pay a total of £285, made up of an increased £120 fine, £150 in court costs and a £15 surcharge, after failing to deal with their initial penalty.

    A further two will pay £240 after pleading guilty to the offence and so receiving a slightly lower fine of £75.

    Source: This is Bath - 06 October 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/oRjPn2

  • USA: FDA to study effect of tobacco rules on smokers

    U.S. health regulators have announced they will follow the behavior and health of 40,000 smokers aged 12 and older to study the effects of new tobacco regulations.

    The joint effort by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health is the first such study since Congress asked the FDA to regulate tobacco products in 2009.

    The FDA said the results will help it better tailor regulations to inform people about the risks of tobacco products.

    Research firm Westat will examine what makes people more likely to smoke or stop smoking, and what effect regulation has had on how people view tobacco and its risks.

    Source: Reuters - 06 October 2011
    Link: http://reut.rs/nAsRsC