ASH, 102 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4HW Tel: 0171 739 5902
Fax: 0171 613 0531

ASH Daily News

Saturday 16 – Monday 18 October, 1999

Headlines

BT apologises for Marlboro promotion
Fresh legal threat to tobacco firms
Millburn prioritises Cigarettes, Cancers, Coronaries
Profile of girls ‘hooked on cool cigarettes’
Dutch Agent wins legal fight on duty ruling
Marlboro man to gatecrash the health lobby?
Does the Butt stop here?
Charter on public smoking pushes the pub trade to act
Films could give manufacturers an easy loophole
Stubbed Out
Letters: Emma Must, of ASH, calls for Action, not words

Full Text

BT apologises for Marlboro promotion

British Telecom has withdrawn from a joint promotion with Philip
Morris to promote cigarettes to students and young people in clubs. It
called the company’s decision to send out BT Easyreach pagers “an
error of judgement” in return for 50 foils from packets of cigarettes.

Seiko on the other hand will carry on with the promotion: “We along
with many, many other consumer goods manufacturers have been involved
with the cigarette manufacturers since Noah was a boy. While you can
make moral judgements about whether we should be or not, we’re in the
business of selling watches”.

Anybody with views on this statement may like to directly fax:

James Weare, Chief Executive of Seiko UK: 01628 770655
David Innes, marketing manager of Seiko UK: 01628 770655
Or you can ring their customer care line: 01628 77 09 88
Email: postmaster@seiko.co.uk and mark it for the attention of either
David or James

Source: The Guardian October 16, 1999

Fresh legal threat to tobacco firms

British tobacco companies may face a fresh round of litigation
following an investigation into the industry, writes Rob Griffin.

The article continues that ‘Sunday Business has learned that an
official inquiry by MP’s could recommend the government starts
proceedings itself if incriminating evidence is uncovered.’

Committee chairman David Hinchcliffe said: “One possible outcome is
further litigation, based on evidence we may uncover”.

Gordon McVie, of the Cancer Research Campaign said: “I would welcome
any reopening of the litigation against tobacco companies.”

Source: Sunday Business, 17 October 1999

Millburn prioritises Cigarettes, Cancers, Coronaries

‘Britain’s top doctors are being ordered to wipe out the three C’s –
cancer, cigarettes and coronaries’ writes the Sun.

The article continues ‘New junior health minister Yvette Cooper will
mastermind a giant new anti-smoking campaign concentrating on the
three C’s.’

Source: The Sun, 18 October 199

Profile of girls ‘hooked on cool cigarettes’

‘The Evening Standard spoke to girls at Newham Sixth Form college and
discovered that even though many were smokers they were concerned
about getting into trouble with their parents if they admitted it”

An 18 year old admitted, “I’ve noticed that I always want a cigarette
when I see someone on television having one”.

The article concludes on the long term consequences of smoking ‘they’
re too young to think about what might happen to then if they continue
to smoke. One teenager adds, “You just don’t believe the bad stuff is
going to happen to you”

Source: Evening Standard City Prices, 15 October 1999

Dutch Agent wins legal fight on duty ruling

A Dutch shipping agent has won a legal battle against tax officials
and the European Commission, which had both ruled that he should pay
for duties on cigarettes that were sold by criminals defrauding the
E.U.’s transit system.

Source: Lloyd’s List, 18 October 1999

Marlboro man to gatecrash the health lobby?

‘Tobacco Giant Philip Morris is offering to help fund a joint
anti-smoking campaign aimed at the young in an attempt to soften the
governments’ war on cigarettes’ writes the Independent on Sunday.

However, they will only offer cash in return for access. ‘The company
emphasises that it would only commit funds if it is allowed to work
closely with the Government’ writes Jo Dillon.

Source: Independent on Sunday, 17 October 1999

Does the Butt stop here?

Oliver Swanton provides a well researched article on the tobacco
industry’s marketing techniques to the young.

He writes, “To replace the people already dead and dying, from
cigarette related diseases, the barons must recruit 120,000 new young
smokers every year.”

With moral and health implications aside, Clive Bates, of ASH, says,
“without doubt they lead the field” and this has been done with the
hundreds of millions of pounds that the tobacco industry has spent on
advertising.

The article highlights the need to monitor the ‘below the line’
aspects of the regulations. This area will include the ‘direct mail,
sponsorship and brand diversification’ aspects.

John Tylee of Campaign argues that ‘the tobacco companies almost want
to go to court. If they can get in front of a judge, who will listen
only to cold legal reasoning and not emotional moral and health
arguments, there is a good chance they can win some of these cases. At
the very least they’ll buy themselves some time”.

On the introduction on the advertising regulations on December 10 he
adds ‘Whatever happens, the barons are expected to surprise’ and he
quotes the then Health Secretary Frank Dobson, as saying “it will be
an uphill struggle. The tobacco companies are committed to doing
everything they can to promote the sale of cigarettes”

Source: Real Life section, Independent on Sunday, 17 October 1999

Charter on public smoking pushes the pub trade to act

There is more coverage of the public places charter and the
implications it will have for the pub trade in the Licensee.

Clive Bates, director of ASH, is extensively quoted and his response
is described as being a ‘surprising one’ but nevertheless welcomed as
a reasonable approach.

Clive add: “Our report shows that a licensee can re-define the
non-smoking areas according to the business being done. This is quite
practical, and I go to two pubs where the non-smoking areas are
greater at the times when food is served or when children are in…and
after 9.30 pm it’s laissez-faire.

Source: Licensee, 14 October 1999

Films could give manufacturers an easy loophole

The Sunday Business reports that ‘tobacco companies may look to
exploit a potential loophole in regulations which allows their
products to be seen on the big screen.’

John Carlisle, of the TMA, admitted it was an area which could be
explored. Amanda Sandford, of ASH, said “it’s just the sort of thing
we predict will happen.”

One prop supplier, said product placement was a “grey area” adding:
“There’s got to be a certain authenticity and you have got to have
smokers”.

Source: Sunday Business, 17 October 1999

Stubbed Out

‘An international cigarette smuggling ring based in Reading, Berks,
has been broken by Customs officers who have seized 450,000 packets
worth more than £1 million.

Source: Sunday Telegraph, 17 October 1999

Letters: Emma Must, of ASH, calls for Action, not words

Continuing the ASH Campaign to get Philip Morris to back its words
with actions, Emma Must writes to the Independent, ‘The acid test of
Philip Morris true motives is not what it says but what it does’. The
letter continues ‘If Philip Morris truly cared about the world-wide
impact of its products it would stop its aggressive marketing tactics
and back the World Health Organisation’s efforts to secure a global
ban on tobacco advertising.’

Mr Gray also writes to the Independent over the government
consultation on smoking restrictions in black cabs. ‘As a libertarian
I uphold the smokers right to smoke, but please not over me’. He
continues ‘Were I a cabbie, I’d happily take a smoke to his
destination- providing he desisted from smoking in a my cab’.

Meanwhile Martin Broughton, chair of BAT, writes to the Financial
Times, calling for the US to ‘move towards open discussion on smoking’
. On governmental approaches to smoking he argues, ‘The alternatives
range from a laissez-faire approach to a social engineering approach.
I do not believe that such a “nannyism” is the proper role of
government in tobacco or anything else, but nor do I believe that
government should play no role and leave it to the market alone.’

Source: The Independent, 18 October 1999

Karl Brookes
Project Manager
102 Clifton Street
London EC2A 4HW
Tel: +44 (0)171-739 5902
Fax: +44 (0)171-613 0531
0589504040 (Mobile)
01426109768 (Pager)
Web: http://www.ash.org.uk