HEADLINES

• Jail term for Plymouth ferry port tobacco smuggler
• Smokers shown dangers of smoking while driving a car
• Quit smoking during Ramadan, says pharmacy
• China struggles with WHO anti-tobacco treaty

• Jail term for Plymouth ferry port tobacco smuggler

  A smuggler who crammed 71,600 cigarettes and 327kg of tobacco into a people-carrier was caught when his ferry arrived in the UK, a court heard.
  
  Razvan Moldovan, 29, a Romanian living in Spain, was stopped at Plymouth 6 August.
  
  The smuggled goods filled almost "every space" of his Chrysler Grand Voyager, Plymouth Magistrates' Court was told.
  
  Moldovan pleaded guilty to evading £53,000 in excise duty and was jailed for 24 weeks.
  
  The smuggled cigarettes and tobacco completely filled the vehicle's roof-box.
  
  More were found hidden under blankets, crammed beneath seating and in every space possible in the back of the car, magistrates heard.
  
  District Judge Paul Farmer said: "It is almost impossible to believe all that tobacco could fit in the vehicle."
  
  Paul Roberts, a senior criminal investigator for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), said: "Cigarette smuggling is not a victimless crime, but theft from law abiding UK residents."
  
  HMRC said the smuggled cigarettes and tobacco would be burned at a power station to fuel the national grid.

  Source: BBC News, 11 August 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/9cs1Ad

• Smokers shown dangers of smoking while driving a car

  Smokers have been warned that lighting up while driving risks passengers' health and a road accident.
  
  Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire Fire Service teamed up at the weekend to demonstrate the dangers at the Britannia Stadium.
  
  Firefighters filled a car with smoke on Saturday to show how quickly it can circulate in an enclosed space and affect passengers.
  
  Event organisers said smoking a single cigarette in a car, even with the window open, significantly increased the amount of smoke passively inhaled by fellow passengers.
  
  Claire McIver, from NHS Stoke-on-Trent, said that was a significant problem for children in the Potteries.
  
  She said: "Passive smoking can lead to bronchitis, asthma, inner ear infections and even worsened behavioural problems and child development."
  
  Claire said children regularly exposed to smoking in homes and cars were three times more likely to take up smoking themselves.
  
  She added: "The best thing you can do to protect others from the dangers of passive smoking is make your home and car smoke-free."
  
  The Sentinel has teamed up with NHS Stoke-on-Trent in a campaign to get 2,010 more people to kick the habit over the course of this year.
  
  The Pack It In scheme encourages people to sign a pledge form promising they will give up smoking.
  
  Jayne Hawe, the city council's principal environmental health officer, said a recent study carried out in the West Midlands showed how dangerous smoking in the car can be.
  
  She said: "It found a child inhales three times the amount of smoke that would be considered safe to inhale over the course of a day. Even with the windows open it didn't make much difference.
  
  "We've been talking to people about the dangers of smoking, particularly in a car, and we've been giving out information and goodie bags. It's all been well-received, people have been very receptive and the demonstration showed people how dangerous it can be."
  
  Staffordshire Fire Service also demonstrated a rescue, saving two dolls trapped in a wrecked car by sawing through the roof.
  
  Watch manager Tim Harris said: "Smoking is a distraction and there have been several accidents when people have been smoking. It is a distraction and you might get people dropping the cigarette accidently."
  
  Dozens of people of people visited the event on Saturday.
  
  Bill Morton, a Quit Smoking adviser for the NHS, said: "There hasn't been a lot of smokers, but the day has gone well.
  
  "We've had a lot of children come to visit us and hopefully they will pass the message on to parents. Often it is the children who provide the motivation to quit."

  Source: thisisstaffordshire, 10 August 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/cOi8ew

• Quit smoking during Ramadan, says pharmacy

  The Co-operative Pharmacy is urging fasting Muslims to stop smoking during Ramadan.
  
  A total of 82 Co-operative Pharmacies located in areas with a high proportion of Muslim customers, are offering a free “medicines check” which now incorporates stop smoking advice.
  
  The pharmacy considers this to be the ideal time of year to think about stopping smoking as Muslims will already be abstaining during daylight hours to fulfil their religious obligation of fasting.
  
  Patients who smoke may be dependent on nicotine and will experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, anger, or restlessness during the fast. The Co-operative Pharmacy has trained the pharmacists to share ways to help the patient beat the addiction and change existing habits.
  
  Mandeep Mudhar, The Co-operative Pharmacy’s Head of NHS Development, added: “Last year we were able to help a significant number of Muslim people intending to fast during Ramadan and we are delighted to extend the service to incorporate stop smoking support, thanks to a grant from McNeil Product Ltd. We are urging Muslim patients who take regular prescribed medication as well as those who wish to stop smoking, to speak to their pharmacist.
  
  “We appreciate the importance of cultural understanding and sensitivity when discussing the implications on healthcare of people’s religious beliefs. We’re not making assumptions about how Muslim patients might act, but we strongly recommend they talk to their pharmacist.”
  
  Kawaldip Sehmi, Director of Healthy Inequalities, QUIT said: “Smoking is a serious health issue for Asian communities who are at risk from heart disease and respiratory symptoms associated with smoking. The month of Ramadan is an excellent opportunity for patients who have chosen to fast to make the decision to stop smoking completely."
  
  “Research shows that people who are most successful at quitting long term are those who have abstained for a four week period, i.e. the length of Ramadan and who have the support of their friends and family as well as the community pharmacist.”
   

  Source: Rochdale News, 11 August 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/cuLzAk

• China struggles with WHO anti-tobacco treaty

  At least 1 million people in China die every year from the impacts of smoking, but what is being done to reduce this?
  
  As well as ensuring that all indoor public places, workplaces and public transport are smoke-free within five years, the WHO agreement requires countries to fight smoking. This should be done by raising cigarette prices and taxes, implementing health warnings on cigarette packs and banning tobacco advertising.
  
  Whilst many other countries have successfully managed the anti-tobacco treaty backed by the World Health Organization, China appears to be struggling to meet banning smoking at public indoor venues by January 9th next year.
  
  However, despite their struggles with hitting their deadline, they have had some success over the past few years. China has banned tobacco advertising on radio, television and newspapers and outlawed smoking in some places, such as on airplanes. Also during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing and other host cities in China went smokefree.
  
  Despite all of these successes, the rate of smoking has not changed significantly and tobacco production has actually gone up. A projection by Oxford University professor Sir Richard Peto, shows that of the young Chinese men alive today, one in three will die from tobacco.
  
  Critics say that this is because China falls short of WHO agreement's requirements. They believe that warnings on Chinese cigarette packages are too small and tobacco tax increases are never passed down to smokers, but instead absorbed by the company.

  Source: European Lung Foundation, 11 August 2010
  Link: http://bit.ly/bkKasX