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ASH Daily News for 23 November 2007

Police officers filmed buying cigarettes for teenagers

An investigation has been launched after a video showing police officers buying cigarettes for a group of youths appeared on the Internet.

Footage of the incident was posted on the YouTube website showing two uniformed officers handing over the packet to a gang outside a shop in Wellingborough, Northants.

The video, entitled Kingz Got Da Feds On Lock, was posted on June 6 this year.

The female officer who bought the cigarettes can be heard apologising to the youths for getting them the wrong brand.

"They didn't have any Lambert & Butlers. I got you B&H Silvers instead, Is that alright?" she asks.

After thanking her, the youths walk off laughing. One asks the cameraman: "You got that?" and he replied, "Yeah, I got that s***."

Superintendent Peter Windridge, Operations Commander for Northamptonshire North, said none of the youths involved were under the age of 16, which was the legal age for buying cigarettes at that time when the film was taken.

He said, "The incident was at least three months ago on the Kingsway estate in Wellingborough which can be a problematic area for us regarding anti-social behaviour and youth nuisance."

"Dealing with these types of incidents can be tricky and officers have to use their discretion when doing so."

"However, the approach taken in dealing with this incident does not accord to our policy and we accept we have a moral obligation not to encourage smoking among young people."

It is understood that the shop had refused to serve the teenagers because they were causing a disturbance, not because they were underage.

Source: The Telegraph, 22 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2ows5a

Australia: Tasmanians congratulated on landmark decision to phase out tobacco displays

Following a landmark amendment by the state's upper house, the Cancer Council Australia said, "Tasmanian parliamentarians should be congratulated for leading the nation on the removal of tobacco displays and setting an example for other jurisdictions to follow."

Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ian Olver said, "The Tasmanian Legislative Council's decision to phase out display of tobacco products in all retailers except specialist tobacconists by February 2011 would assist smokers trying to quit and help prevent the addiction of new smokers."

Professor Olver said the challenge was now with other jurisdictions to follow Tasmania's lead and take a unified national approach to tobacco control by removing the visual temptation to continue or take up a life threatening and highly addictive habit.

He added, "New research from The Cancer Council Victoria shows that more than half of smokers who are trying to give up can be induced into a relapse by seeing tobacco products on display. New smokers are also more likely to become addicted if tobacco products are visible, as retail display is an effective way of tempting someone to make a purchase."

Professor Olver said each year 7700 Australians died from cancers caused by smoking, with around the same number of smoking related deaths from other illnesses such as emphysema, heart disease and stroke.

He said that while Australia was a world leader in tobacco control, almost one in five Australian adults were daily smokers, many of whom wanted to quit but struggled with nicotine addiction. "Sweden, the United States, Portugal and Canada all have lower smoking rates than Australia, so we have a long way to go to meet our potential as a nation to reduce the death, disease and economic costs of smoking."

"The Tasmanians have raised the bar by committing to remove tobacco products from sight, so it is up to the other states and territories to follow this groundbreaking commitment to improved public health."

Professor Olver said Tasmania, along with South Australia, had also shown national leadership by legislating to ban smoking in cars carrying young children.

Source: Medical News Today, 22 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/3dmmqf

South Africa: drive to stub out smoking among the youth

A new study has found that two approaches to reduce teenage smoking rates and prevent others from starting appear twice as effective as the government's curriculum for teaching life skills.

Research by the Medical Research Council (MRC) is being studied by the education department with the view to improving tobacco prevention programmes in schools, as most smokers start when they are teenagers.

According to Professor Priscilla Reddy, director of the the MRC's health promotion research and development unit,  "Smoking kills an estimated twenty thousand adults each year and is the single biggest cause of preventable deaths."

The MRC's study, funded by a five year grant from the US National Institutes of Health, compared the effect of South Africa's Revised National Curriculum Life Orientation syllabus with that of a US-developed peer resistance approach (called Life Skills Training), that emphasised abstinence and an Australian-developed model, based on harm minimisation.

The study found that reactions to the US and Australian programmes varied, depending on the race, gender and location of respondents. This prompted the MRC to recommend that both be made available to schools, with guidance on how to choose which one might be most appropriate.

The US Life Skills Training approach was found to be most effective among girls, while Australia's Keep Left programme worked best among boys.

Source: AllAfrica, 22 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/29lkmr

Cigarette sting smokes out illegal shop sellers 

Almost half the shops visited in an undercover operation in Edinburgh sold cigarettes to underage buyers.

Fifteen year old volunteers, working with Trading Standards, were sold cigarettes at 18 out of 40 shops. The shops have received written warnings following the visits, which were staged after the age limit for buying tobacco rose to 18 on October 1.

The undercover stings were conducted after Trading Standards warned 317 shops for not displaying signs about the new rules.

Among the 18 shops discovered selling tobacco to underage buyers was Ben's Newsagent on Brunswick Street in Leith Walk.

Owner Aslam Mohammed apologised for what he said was a genuine mistake.

Shops that refused to sell tobacco to the 15-year-olds received letters from the council informing them of the visit and praising staff for their vigilance.

RS McColl in Davidson's Mains was one of those that passed the test. Stephen Bevin, supervisor at the store, said his branch had displayed the new age-restriction posters before the legislation came into effect.

He said: "The majority of kids come in wearing a school uniform, so we just wouldn't sell them any cigarettes."

More random undercover spot-checks on shops and places selling cigarettes is likely to happen in December.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, the city's environment leader, praised stores that passed the test. He added: "However, I am very concerned by the fact that nearly half of the premises we tested sold cigarettes regardless of the age of the customer."

"This behaviour is totally unacceptable and steps have been put in place to ensure that our trading standards officers monitor these retailers."

He said the council would seek the strongest possible action against anyone who continues to break the law, with reports being sent to the procurator fiscal.

Source: The Scotsman, 22 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2hlt4s