ASH Daily News for 23 November 2006

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ASH Daily News

23 November 2006

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HEADLINES

ECJ rules against tax free internet tobacco sales

Smoking laws already shaping pub market

Psychotic patients benefit from cessation

Japanese smoking rate on decline

FULL TEXT

ECJ rules against tax free internet tobacco sales

Health campaigners breathed a collective sigh of relief today after the European Court of Justice ruled that anyone buying cigarettes over the Internet would still be required to pay tax at the rate set by the country of final destination.

The legal dispute centred on a case originally brought by a group of Dutch wine enthusiasts who argued that they should only have to pay local duties on wine imported for personal consumption if ordered over the Internet.

Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH, said:

"Thankfully the ECJ has taken into account the broader health and economic implications of this case. If the Dutch case had been considered lawful it would have been disastrous for the health of Britons and other Europeans living in countries where tobacco taxes are high."

The European Court of Justice ruled that products, including alcohol and tobacco, which are not bought for private purposes must 'necessarily be regarded as being held for commercial purposes' and therefore subject to import tax.

EU laws from 1992 stipulate that tax should be charged at the rate of the country of purchase, allowing an exemption from excise duty only if they are for private use and carried by that individual.

The European Court of Justice called on the EU executive to 'remedy' current EU laws, if it saw fit to do so.

Source: BBC, Forbes, 23 November 2006

Article link: (BBC) http://tinyurl.com/yza6od (F) http://tinyurl.com/yh8392

ASH press release: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/press/061123.html

Smoking laws already shaping pub market

The journey towards a UK-wide smoking ban in enclosed public places has already started to shape the pub landscape, leading operators have revealed.

For Punch Taverns, the UK's largest pub landlord, with more than 9,000 sites, smoking has been a factor in acquisitions for some time, according to Neil Griffiths, director of property and strategy

"Certainly, since we've known a smoking ban was likely, we've avoided buying pubs that couldn't offer some form of smoking ban compromise," he told Caterer.

The forthcoming ban has seen many of the larger operators begin the process of shaking up their estate in preparation, with Greene King this week announcing the sale of 155 sites to Admiral Taverns.

However, Brian Hickman, managing director (brewery) at pub company Daniel Thwaites, believes it is post-ban that the legislation will really start to mould the market.

"I believe we will see polarisation, with higher prices paid for pubs at the top end of the market, which will mean investors accepting lower returns," he said. "At the bottom end, far more boozers will go into alternative use, such as offices and housing."

The Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations has called on pub landlords to consider reducing rents for licensees whose pubs are hit worst by the smoking ban.

Finalised regulations governing the smoking ban in England are expected to enter their remaining procedural stages in Parliament imminently, although a definite document is unlikely before January 2007 at the earliest.

The Welsh Assembly is pushing ahead with plans to introduce a smoking ban on 2 April 2007 and, having completed its separate consultation on smoking regulations earlier this month, plans to have them published by the start of the New Year.

So far, the Department of Health has said only that a ban in England will start next summer - to the frustration of operators.

Stephen Goodyear, chief executive of London pub company Young & Co, has become the latest to call on the Government to name a start date. "It is our view that this change is better done sooner than later," he said.

Source: Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 23 November 2006

Article link: http://tinyurl.com/y6kyko

Psychotic patients benefit from smoking cessation

People with a psychotic disorder can benefit from a smoking cessation intervention consisting of nicotine replacement therapy plus motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy, according to a new study.

"Despite extremely high rates of smoking among individuals with psychotic disorders and the associated financial and health costs, few studies have investigated the efficacy of smoking cessation interventions among this group," Dr. Amanda Baker, of the University of Newcastle, Australia, and colleagues write in the current issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The researchers compared a psychological and nicotine replacement therapy intervention with routine care alone among 298 regular smokers with a psychotic disorder. About half of the subjects were randomly assigned to an eight-session smoking cessation intervention and the other half to routine care.

The smoking cessation intervention consisted of nicotine replacement therapy, motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy. Outcome measures included abstinence rates, smoking reduction, and changes in symptoms and functioning.

The authors report a strong "dose-response" relationship between treatment session attendance and smoking reduction status. A 50 percent or greater reduction in daily cigarette consumption during the follow-up period was observed in half of those who completed the intervention program compared with less than 20 percent of those in the comparison group.

"In our study, nicotine replacement therapy commencement was associated with a net reduction of five to eight cigarettes per day, suggesting that higher doses or a longer duration of nicotine replacement therapy use may be necessary to obtain additional benefits," Baker's team concludes.

Source: Reuters, 23 November 2006

Article link: http://tinyurl.com/y3s35x

Journal link: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/


Japanese smoking rate on decline

Fewer Japanese are lighting up as the country tightens regulations on smoking in public, and health awareness among adults increases, according to a survey by Japan Tobacco Inc., the country's largest tobacco maker.

About 41.3 percent of Japanese men said they smoked, while 12.4 percent of women admitted to lighting up, with the country's overall smoking rate at 26.3 percent, according to an annual survey by Japan Tobacco, released Wednesday.

In 2005, the rate for male smokers was 45.8 percent, for women it was 13.8 percent, and the overall smoking rate was 29.2 percent.

However, the tobacco company cautioned against directly comparing the two years' results as it had changed its method and number of samples for this year's survey.

Despite the change in survey methods, JT noted that the number of smokers was falling amid growing public awareness about health and tighter regulations on smoking in public places.

If compared with past results, this year's overall smoking rate of 26.3 percent would mark an 11th year of decline to a record low.

Many restaurants and train platforms are increasingly designating non-smoking sections, but bars still permit smoking. Public facilities and hospitals are now smoke-free and local officials in Tokyo fine anyone who smokes in certain parts of the city

Source: International Herald and Tribune, 23 November 2006

Article link: http://tinyurl.com/y9cx3f

Michael Fredman
Web Manager
ASH
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020 7739 5902


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