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ASH Daily news for 27 July 2010

HEADLINES

  • Scotland: Smoking progress demanded

    Anti-smoking campaigners have urged Scottish political parties to back more controls on tobacco.

    Now that smoking is banned in public places in the UK, they say the strategy is out of date .

    The Scottish Coalition on Tobacco yesterday called for the parties to include a commitment to new tobacco controls in their manifestos for next year’s Holyrood election.

    Sheila Duffy, who chairs the health coalition, called for a new policy within the first year of the new parliamentary term.

    She said it should aim to prevent young people from starting to smoke, encouraging smokers to quit and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke.

    Source: Herald Scotland - 27 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/aXGIZP

  • Dentists urged to lobby MPs over ‘tobacco display U-turn’

    Dentists are being urged to lobby MPs following reports that the coalition government is considering repealing regulations to prohibit tobacco displays in shops.

    The regulations – passed by the previous administration – also banned the sale of tobacco from vending machines.

    The Tobacco Authority and Promotion (Display) Regulations 2010, passed in March 2010, bans retailers from displaying tobacco products openly at the point of sale – i.e. having cigarette packets in public view behind the counter.

    Currently, large retailers are due to implement the new laws by October 2011 and small retailers by October 2013.

    The regulations were pushed through at the tail end of the last government, but the Department of Health (DH) has confirmed the ban is under review.

    The British Dental Association (BDA) is urging its members to contact their MPs – the Association is a member of the Smokefree Action Coalition – and is keen for the new rules to forge ahead.

    A DH spokeswoman confirmed that the display ban is under review.

    She said: ‘We are going to publish a White Paper on public health at the end of the year which will look at tobacco displays among other things, but it hasn't been confirmed that the ban will be overturned. It is being reviewed as an ongoing discussion across government about public health.

    ‘We are consulting with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and other business groups to see how going ahead with the ban would impact on retail,' she added.

    The BDA's call coincides with a new study that reveals that young people are influenced by the point-of-sale advertising of tobacco.

    It is published in the journal, Health Promotion Practice, and was carried out by scientists from the University of Stirling.

    The study suggests that children find such adverts attractive and thought that it is easy to purchase tobacco.

    Source: Dentistry - 26 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/b5FAMv

  • No smoke without fire

    Homes with smokers living in them are at far more risk of fire than non-smoking households.

    Last year 29% of all fire deaths in Essex were caused by smoking related materials and 10% of all injuries in fires in the county were caused by smoking.

    Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have joined forces with Mid Essex Primary Care Trust to get the fire safety message to smokers.

    Mid Essex PCT have launched the Smoke Free Homes scheme to encourage parents who smoke to give up, or not smoke around their children.

    All parents who take up the scheme will be given the option to receive a free home fire safety visit.

    Sub Officer Steve Milchard said: “If smokers take simple precautions then they will be a lot safer - fires caused by cigarettes can cause devastation so it is important that smokers are not complacent and take the proper care, and always ensure that all smoking materials are properly extinguished.”

    He gave this advice to smokers:

    • Put it out, right out! Make sure your cigarette is fully extinguished.
    • Take extra care when you're tired, taking any sort of drugs or have been drinking alcohol. It's very easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning.
    • Never smoke in bed - if you need to lie down, don't light up. You could doze off and set your bed on fire.
    • Never leave lit cigarettes, cigars or pipes unattended - they can easily overbalance as they burn down.
    • Use a proper, heavy ashtray that can't tip over easily and is made of a material that won't burn.
    • Make sure your cigarette is not still burning when you are finished. Put it out, right out.
    • Tap your ash into an ashtray, never a wastebasket containing other rubbish and don't let the ash or cigarette ends build up in the ashtray.
    • Fit and maintain a smoke alarm - A working smoke alarm can buy you valuable time to get out, stay out and dial 999. You can get a ten-year smoke alarm for roughly the same price as two packets of cigarettes.
    • Make sure that you have an escape plan and know how to get out if the worst should happen and you and your family are woken by a smoke alarm.
    Source: Heart - 27 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/8ZgGJn

  • Alex Higgins’ love-hate affair with tobacco

    [Snooker star Alex Higgins died on Saturday after a long battle with throat cancer. The 61-year-old former world champion was known as the Hurricane by his many fans. Higgins, from Northern Ireland, was diagnosed with throat cancer more than 10 years ago.]

    Alex Higgins couldn’t give cigarettes up completely — even after contracting throat cancer.

    Despite having no urge to quit, he famously railed against the snooker authorities for allowing tobacco companies to sponsor major events — including the Embassy World Championship which he won twice.

    Diagnosed with cancer in 1998, the 80-a-day man chose to appear on the BBC1 documentary, Tobacco Wars, in July 1999.

    Speaking in a whisper caused by many treatments of radiotherapy and an operation to remove a cancerous lymph node in his neck, Higgins raged that he felt “nothing but disgust” for the industry.

    “The tobacco companies and snooker were as thick as thieves,” he claimed. “Obviously I think that they have got their advertising for a song for 25 years. Cigarettes are everywhere in snooker. Freebies everywhere. Most players were given free cigarettes.”

    At the time he appeared on the programme, he had a court case outstanding against snooker's governing body and was about to instigate proceedings against the tobacco industry itself.

    Source: Belfast Telegraph - 26 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/aM5jqE

  • Uruguay may change anti-smoking law due to complaint

    Uruguay's government said on Monday it may loosen up the country's tough laws on smoking to avoid a dispute with Philip Morris, drawing criticism from anti-tobacco activists.

    Former Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, an oncologist, banned smoking in public buildings four years ago. Tobacco advertising is also banned and cigarettes' packets must carry large health warnings.

    The rules, which also prevent the sale of products branded as "light," put the small South American country at the vanguard of global anti-smoking laws.

    However, the measures have irked global tobacco company Philip Morris International <PM.N>, which earlier this year filed for arbitration at the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

    Uruguay's government said the possible reforms to the anti-smoking law would try to invalidate the company's claim, which says the current law harms its business by preventing it from selling products advertised as "light."

    "On some arguments, Uruguay is very strong from a legal point of view and changes aren't necessary. On other points, we need to make changes to the law or come up with a new law," Foreign Minister Luis Almagro told reporters.

    The government has said that any changes would be minor. Possible reforms might include reducing the size of health warnings from the current 80 percent of the packet's size to 65 percent, and giving permission to sell "light" cigarettes.

    Suggestions that the anti-smoking rules could be changed sparked criticism from health activists, who accused the government of caving into pressure from big business to avert a defeat at the arbitration panel.

    Former president Vazquez, who led the crackdown during his term, accused the company of exercising "a blackmailing pressure" with the complaint, which is based on a trade deal between Uruguay and Switzerland, where the tobacco firm is based.

    "The only thing that Philip Morris is trying to do with this is show its power over a small country that has set an international example on this issue," he told the state-run television network.

    The possible easing of the tobacco measures was also criticized by the country's Center for Investigation of the Tobacco Epidemic, a nongovernmental anti-smoking group.

    "If the country gives way to this pressure, maybe this or some other multinational will soon try to use another (international) accord to challenge our ban on smoking in enclosed spaces or the ban on advertising," Eduardo Bianco, the group's president, told Reuters.

    A representative from Philip Morris International could immediately be reached for comment.

    Source: Reuters - 26 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cr5r5V

  • New Zealand retailers fight back against tobacco display ban

    The New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS) has released the results of a Retailer Poll showing widespread opposition against a Ministry of Health proposal to ban tobacco products from display in shops. “With over 60% of retailers not agreeing with the display ban proposal the Ministry and Government continues to have a real fight on their hands,” said NZACS Chairman Roger Bull.

    “We have consistently encouraged the Ministry to actively talk with the retail sector instead of thinking-up new regulations from Wellington, said Mr Bull. “This research also showed nearly 65% of retailers have never even seen a Ministry official, yet alone been provided advice from the Ministry on their responsibilities as retailers selling tobacco products.”

    Retailers are also aware that both Denmark and Sweden have recently rejected a retail display ban alongside reports that the new UK Business Secretary Vince Cable is looking to overturn the UK’s display ban.

    “Sweden’s approach of tightening regulations on the sale of tobacco together with stronger enforcement needs serious consideration by the New Zealand Government instead of simplistic display bans which don’t work and force significant costs onto retailers,” said Mr Bull. “The reality is that the Prime Minister’s comments of June 2009, “that there is no international evidence that a display ban actually works and it’s hugely expensive to do it...” are as relevant today as it was 12 months ago,” Mr Bull said.

    Source: International Supermarket News - 26 July 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/bLytDB