HEADLINES

• Conservative health minister comes under fire over tobacco briefings
• 'Healthy' packaging tricks smokers, says charity
• Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli urged to quit smoking by manager Roberto Mancini
• Quitting cigarettes saves smokers £2,500 a year, says study
• Half of all smokers underestimate the health and financial impacts of smoking
• Tobacco display ban reminder for supermarkets
• Cumbria: Pro-smoking shop opening in fight to overturn smokefree law
• Joint response to Mark Leftly's article

• Conservative health minister comes under fire over tobacco briefings

  Leaked emails reveal that Earl Howe canvassed lobbyists for Marlboro maker Philip Morris – and became a willing partner in its bid to thwart legislation that would have banned its products from display in shops.

  See Also: 

  - The health minister, the tobacco lobby, and a major campaign to derail a cigarette ban, The Guardian

  - Plans to ban cigarette displays in shops 'disrupted after Tory peer contacted lobbying group for tobacco giant', Daily Mail

  Source: The Guardian - 31 December 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/uNXBSz

• 'Healthy' packaging tricks smokers, says charity

  A British Heart Foundation survey shows that 'glitzy' packaging can dupe smokers (particularly young ones) into thinking cigarettes are 'healthy'.

  See Also:
  - British heart group calls for plain tobacco packs, Reuters

  - Cigarette Branding 'Hooks Young', Says Report, Sky News

  - Are you a designer smoker?, Sunderland Echo 

  - Children and young people hoodwinked by cigarette packaging, British Heart Foundation (includes video and link to the report)

  Source: The Independent - 29 December 2011
  Link: http://ind.pn/t4JJWq

• Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli urged to quit smoking by manager Roberto Mancini

  Roberto Mancini has urged Mario Balotelli to focus on the game rather than cigarettes after admitting the Manchester City forward has ignored his advice to quit smoking.

  See Also: 
  - Balotelli free to smoke, says Mancini, The Independent

  - Insight into smoking in football: Why it remains the great taboo, Daily Mail

  Source: The Telegraph - 30 December 2011
  Link: http://tgr.ph/u3nUHD

• Quitting cigarettes saves smokers £2,500 a year, says study

  A 20-a-day smoker could save at least £2,500 a year and improve their health by giving up cigarettes, according to ASH Scotland.

  Source: Huffington Post - 27 December 2011
  Link: http://huff.to/w39ksb

• Half of all smokers underestimate the health and financial impacts of smoking

  As millions of New Year’s resolutions are made, new NHS Smokefree research reveals that many smokers are largely underestimating how damaging smoking is to their personal health and finances.

  Source: InvestinUK - 01 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/tm0Fk1

• Tobacco display ban reminder for supermarkets

  The government is reminding supermarket retailers in England to remove tobacco displays within the next 100 days.

  Source: BBC News - 28 December 2011
  Link: http://bbc.in/vvCiYo

• Cumbria: Pro-smoking shop opening in fight to overturn smokefree law

  A campaigner is planning to open a pro-smoking shop in Cumbria to support his drive to urge the Government to overturn the smoking ban.

  Steven Simon is moving to the Lake District and hopes to obtain a lease for a small unit to sell T-shirts promoting his campaign while offering a place for smokers to meet and chat.

  Source: The Cumberland News - 02 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/uLjaTt

• Joint response to Mark Leftly's article

  Tobacco is a deadly product, with around half of regular smokers dying as a direct result of their tobacco use ("Blank cigarette packs will prove a multi-billion drag on the Treasury", 18 December). Mark Leftly suggests that introducing plain cigarette packaging to deter smokers won't work. Yet peer-reviewed studies from around the world consistently show that plain packaging will make smoking less attractive, particularly to young people. This is important, given two-thirds of smokers start before they're 18.

  Plain packs will make the health warnings more prominent and reduce the tobacco industry's ability to mislead consumers about the harms of smoking with "healthier-looking" colours and branding.

  There is no evidence plain packaging will make cigarettes easier to counterfeit. The tobacco industry already has to put covert markings on all packs to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit goods – and this will continue with plain packs.

  Far from "throwing a sop to public health groups", Andrew Lansley has decided to consult on plain packaging based on the evidence – something the tobacco industry is clearly finding uncomfortable.

  Dr Vivienne Nathanson
  British Medical Association

  Maura Gillespie
  British Heart Foundation

  Jean King
  Cancer Research UK

  Deborah Arnott
  Chief executive, ASH

  Source: The Independent - 01 January 2012
  Link: http://ind.pn/vUbE1o