ASH, 102 Clifton Street, LONDON, EC2A 4HW.
Tel 020 7739 5902 Fax 020 7613 0531

ASH Daily News
18 October 2002


HEADLINES

UK Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
The world’s first international tobacco control treaty
Work, stress and smoking - and stress again
EU Commissioner speaks at Liberal Democrat Conference


FULL TEXT

UK Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
The House of Commons information office has confirmed that the Leader of the
House, Rt Hon Robin Cook MP has put down the Tobacco Advertising and
Promotion Bill for its Report stage and Third Reading on Monday 21 October
2002.

The Queen speech is to take place on the 13 of November 2002. This means
that Consideration of amendments need to be reconciled between the two
Houses before then for the Bill to receive Royal assent. Effectively, we
have the best part of three weeks to see the Bill on to the statute books.

Click on the URL below for a quick guide to the stages of legislation.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld/ldstleg.htm


The world’s first international tobacco control treaty

Negotiators from the World Health Organization's 191 member states meet in
Geneva this week in an attempt to agree the world's first international
tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This
legally binding treaty would aim to establish principles and guidelines for
international tobacco control. It follows a similar format to the 1992
United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change and its related
protocols such as that signed in Kyoto in 1997. The development of a
framework convention on tobacco is important because it is the first time in
its history that the WHO has used its treaty making powers. And in the
growing debate around trade and health it provides an opportunity to ensure
that health is given primacy over commercial considerations when it comes to
trade in a product that kills one in every two of its long term users.

Full BMJ article: <http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7369/846>
Source: British Medical Journal, Volume 325, 19 October 2002



EU Commissioner speaks at Liberal Democrat Conference

The European commissioner for the internal market, Frits Bolkestein took the
rostrum at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bath and used the opportunity
to bitterly criticise Britain over what he sees as the “illegal bullying of
cross-channel shoppers” reported the Daily Mail.

HM Customs maintain that they are running a huge operation to fight
organised and systematic bootlegging of tobacco from the continent.

Source: Daily Mail, 18 October 2002



Work, stress and smoking - and stress again.

Several newspapers report on the Finish study published in the British
Medical Journal that found that increased stress levels at work could double
your risks of a fatal heart attack. The authors , Mika Kivimaki and
colleagues from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, say that
traditional advice to stop smoking, eat less fat and take up more exercise
should be supplemented by seeking ways to prevent stress.

The Independent reported the story under the headline: “Official: Work is
bad for your health.”

Can I go home now boss?

Source: Daily Telegraph, 18 October 2002


Naj Dehlavi
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London EC2A 4HW
http://www.ash.org.uk