HEADLINES

• Councils told to stub out big tobacco pension deals
• 39% of lung cancer patients STILL smoking within a year of diagnosis, say researchers
• Sunderland: Shop staff rewarded for help in discouraging underage smoking
• Kent: Teen punched after refusing cigarette
• Ireland: HSE to ban smoking in all its hospital grounds
• USA: Tenn. police officer fired for smoking in precinct

• Councils told to stub out big tobacco pension deals

  Councils across England and Wales have at least £1.3bn of employee pension funds invested in tobacco companies such as Imperial and British American Tobacco, though the true figure is likely to top £2bn, with individual local authorities investing up to £125m each. The revelation last night prompted widespread condemnation from public health leaders trying to reduce the burden of smoking on the NHS.

  It follows an announcement by the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, that £5.2bn will be available for public health spending in the year from April 2013, with councils set to receive just over £2bn to help reduce health inequalities and promote healthier lifestyles.

  Martin Drockrell from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: "When you consider the entire spend on public health for England, it looks like many councils have more money tied up in tobacco shares than they will be spending on protecting children and helping smokers to quit."

  Council pension funds insist they are duty bound to maximise financial return and cannot consider ethical issues. But a new report by Fair Pensions and ASH says this is a simplistic, outdated interpretation of the law.

  The report also claims that tobacco companies are no longer low-risk, high-profit investments as tighter regulation, higher taxes and outstanding law suits will hit long-term profit margins.

  The full briefing can be downloaded from the ASH website here.

  Source: The Independent - 24 January 2012
  Link: http://ind.pn/yvV4yL

• 39% of lung cancer patients STILL smoking within a year of diagnosis, say researchers

  Of the approximately 5,000 U.S. lung and colorectal cancer patients surveyed by a new study, 39 per cent of the former were still smoking within the year of their diagnosis.

  Five months later researchers went back to the patients and found 14 per cent of lung cancer patients and 9 per cent of colon cancer patients were still smoking.

  Source: Daily Mail - 23 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/y8UOdl

• Sunderland: Shop staff rewarded for help in discouraging underage smoking

  The Responsible Retailer Awards saw recipients invited into the Mayor’s Parlour to receive their certificates from the Mayor of Sunderland.

  The awards have been running for nine years, rewarding shop owners and staff who work hard to ensure that tobacco products, mostly cigarettes, are not sold to those under the legal age.

  Source: Sunderland Echo - 24 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/yt9fLP

• Kent: Teen punched after refusing cigarette

  A 15-year-old boy was approached by a stranger in Maidstone town centre just before 7pm on 10 January.

  When he declined the offer of a cigarette, the victim was punched and suffered bruising.
   

  Source: Kent Online - 24 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/zE1dv3

• Ireland: HSE to ban smoking in all its hospital grounds

  The grounds of every hospital and institution run by the Health Service Executive will be smoke-free by 2015. More than a third of hospitals, including some of the biggest in the State, will ban smoking on their grounds this year, according to the HSE’s national service plan published last week.

  It will mean patients, staff and relatives will have to leave the hospital grounds if they want to smoke.

  Source: The Irish Times - 24 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/wHCY6e

• USA: Tenn. police officer fired for smoking in precinct

  A Tennessee police department says it has fired an officer after 17 years on the force because he repeatedly smoked cigarettes inside the precinct in violation of the city's no smoking policy.

  Newbern police Sgt. James Bishop was terminated last week. A 2007 city policy prohibits smoking inside all municipal offices and buildings.

  Source: STLToday - 23 January 2012
  Link: http://bit.ly/ylDoGG