Under 18s should be fined £50 for trying to buy cigarettes, say MPs

MPs are calling for new laws forcing underage smokers who try to purchase cigarettes to be fined £50.  

David Lepper, Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion, and Peter Bottomley, Tory MP for West Worthing, want the illegal purchase of tobacco to be punishable by fixed penalty notices in the same way as alcohol.

It follows the increase in the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 on October 1.

The change makes it illegal for shop keepers to sell cigarettes to under 18s, but not for under-18s to try to buy them.

The MPs hope making the underage purchase of cigarettes an offence would "relieve pressure" on shop owners who currently face abuse and hassle from teenagers without ID. 

The early day motion, signed by 22 MPs, welcomes the increase in the legal minimum age for buying tobacco.

But, noting that fixed penalty notices can be issued to those under the age of 18 who attempt to buy alcohol, it says: "If it was an offence for those under the age of 18 years to attempt to purchase tobacco this would act as a deterrent to children from doing so and relieve pressure on shop owners and reduce potential violence."

The motion calls on the Government to "bring forward proposals to bring into line the legal penalties for the attempted purchase of tobacco with that of alcohol, as well as increasing support in all areas for under 18s to quit smoking."

Mr Lepper said,  "When the higher legal age first came in I said it had to be enforced and it's the job of shopkeepers to enforce it. They have been enforcing the alcohol ban and this is much the same. But no shop keeper should be subject to abuse or threats."

"With alcohol it's against the law to try and buy it as well as to sell it. It should be the same for tobacco products as this would give additional support to shop keepers."

Source: The Argus, 16 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/32qsoz

Cancer survivor's grim message to smokers: Quit now or you may die

A Cancer survivor from Derby has warned smokers to look after their lungs or they could die.

Janet Tandy is speaking out to mark Lung Cancer Awareness Month and telling people to quit smoking to protect their health.

The 62-year-old is currently in remission from lung cancer, after smoking for nearly 40 years.

She quit last November, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer after developing a hacking cough, and underwent surgery to cut away one third of her right lung.

Mrs Tandy, from Neilson Street, Alvaston, said: "Lung cancer really can be a death sentence. So my message is clear, look after your lungs or you could die.

"Smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your health, there is no such thing as a recreational smoker and you get hooked very quickly.

"If you are an existing smoker, then please quit."

"I also want to tell all these kids who start smoking because they think it's fashionable not to bother."

Source: thisisderbyshire, 17 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/376hnd

Five million cigarettes seized

Customs officers have seized five million cigarettes at Dublin Port. The 'M1' branded products had an estimated value of 1.9 million euro and were concealed in a 40-foot container marked 'Bedlinen' that had arrived from Turkey.

The detection was as a result of profiling and a scan by the Customs X-Ray Container Scanner.

A customs spokesman said, "The potential loss to the Exchequer is estimated at 1.3 million euro." 

A total of 23 million cigarettes have been seized in Dublin Port so far in 2007.

Source: The Press Association, 17 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2rhfeq

USA: Study finds that heart attacks in non-smokers decreased with smoking ban

People with no risk factors for heart disease can still experience heart attacks. An Indiana University study found that after a countywide smoking ban was implemented, hospital admissions for heart attacks dropped 70 percent for non-smokers, but not for smokers.

Dong-Chul Seo, lead author and assistant professor in IU Bloomington's Department of Applied Health Science said, "Heart attack admissions for smokers saw no similar decline during the study, so the benefits of the ban appear to come more from the reduced exposure to secondhand smoke among non-smokers than from reduced consumption of tobacco among smokers."

The study, was the first to examine the effect of public smoking bans on heart attacks in non-smokers. Previous studies did not distinguish between non-smokers and smokers when examining the effect of the bans or specifically look at non-smokers who had no risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or previous heart surgery.

Seo said, "What concerns us is the fact that about half of all non-smoking Americans are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, even though more than 500 municipalities nationwide have adopted some form of a smoking ban in public places."

Delaware County had no smoking bans during the study period, while Monroe County prohibited smoking in restaurants, bars, retail spaces and workplaces.

Researchers examined hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Monroe County, Ind., and Delaware County, Ind., which are comparable in a number of ways, including population, presence of a college community, median income, racial/ethnic diversity and heart disease death rates. 

The study compared the two counties in addition to analysing the 35,482 hospital admissions in Monroe county 22 months before and 22 months after the initial smoking ban was adopted. In Monroe County, there was a 70 percent drop in the number of hospital admissions for AMI among non-smoking patients with no history of heart disease, compared to an 11 percent drop in Delaware County. This translates into a 59 percent net decrease in the number of non-smoking patient admissions for heart attacks after the Monroe County public smoking ban was enforced.

The study was supported by the American Institutes for Research and Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

Source: Newswise, 19 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/395o4o