Home / Media Room / News / ASH Daily News / ASH Daily News for 23 October 2007 / ASH Daily news for 16 February 2011

ASH Daily news for 16 February 2011

HEADLINES

  • Belfast: Smoking ban challenger fails

    A pro-smoking campaigner has failed in a new legal challenge against Northern Ireland's smoking ban. Senior judges threw out a bid by north Down man, Chris Carter, to quash his conviction for lighting a cigarette in a no-smoking area in October 2007.

    Mr Carter claimed his rights to privacy and freedom from torture and discrimination were breached by the prohibition and compared restrictions on smoking to those imposed by the Third Reich in Hitler's Germany.

    Chris Carter, 56, was seeking leave to apply for a judicial review of the legislation which led to him being fined and ordered to pay costs of £1,250 in total for smoking at the front of Bangor Town Hall.
     
    He was prosecuted under the terms of the Smoking (NI) Order 2006. His case was dismissed because he was not held to have the status of a victim and as no breach of his human rights was established.

    Lord Justice Coghlin said: "Furthermore, if such a breach had been established, we are satisfied that the ban on smoking restricted to public places falls within the margin of appreciation of the State being lawful and necessary in a democratic society."
     
    Source: Ulster TV News, 14 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/ha51Ee

  • Ireland: Incoming government urged to renew anti-smoking efforts to cut cancer rates

    The incoming government in Ireland has been urged to press ahead with a ban on children using sunbeds and renew anti-smoking efforts to cut cancer rates.

    As new research showed smokers light up an average 23 cigarettes a day - 10 more than last year - the Irish Cancer Society demanded a national tobacco strategy.
     
    Kathleen O'Meara, of the Irish Cancer Society, warned cancer was on the rise with one in three people expected to be diagnosed with the illness in Ireland at some point in their lives. The lobby group said cutting the smoking rate was one of the biggest challenges, and called on the new government to introduce community support for quitters, highlight the dangers of smoking, tackle smuggling and ensure cigarette prices are high.
     
    "We won't tackle cancer if we don't tackle tobacco because smoking causes 30% of all cancers," Ms O'Meara said. "We want the new government to put together a plan that brings the smoking rate down to 20% by the year 2020."
     
    The launch coincided with new research from Aviva Health Insurance which revealed almost a quarter of those who fill out their online health check are smokers.
     
    The company said Irish smokers consume an average of 23 cigarettes every day, costing the smoker approximately 293.25 euro each month and 3,519 euro per year.
     
    Source: Belfast Telegraph, 15 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hLI4Wm

  • Spain: Hair raising smoking fine

     Following a complaint by a member of the public, a Barcelona theatre is facing a fine for ignoring the smoking ban.

    An actor appearing in the musical Hair is accused of smoking on stage.  If the cigarette in question is found to have contained tobacco, then a fine of up to 10,000 euro may be levied on the theatre.

    The director of the musical, Roger Peña, has rejected the complaint, stating that the actor in question was using a cigarette made up of herbs such as basil.
     
    Smoking is banned in all enclosed public places in Spain, that includes theatres, libraries, museums and bars and there are no exceptions due to status of an individual. However, if the cigarette was in fact found to contain no tobacco at all, then no law is being violated, according to the Spanish Health Department.
    Source: Costa Blanca Leader, 16 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/i38dKI

  • USA: Senators urge baseball to ban smokeless tobacco

    Two Senate Democrats are urging Major League Baseball and the players union to ban smokeless tobacco, known as chew and dip.

    New Jersey Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin warned on Tuesday that the product endangers players' health and "sends a dangerous message" to young fans.
     
    Smokeless tobacco is already banned in the minor leagues but not in the majors, where players and managers often can be seen using products during games.

    They urged the baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and Michael Weiner, the head of the union, to agree to a ban in the next collective bargaining agreement, after the existing agreement expires in December.
     
     
    Source: Sporting News, 15 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/gVQa1k

  • Motor neurone disease 'smoking link' found

    Scientists in the US have found a possible link between smoking and a form of motor neurone disease.

    A study in the Archives of Neurology described findings from  five long-term studies that showed smokers had a 42% higher risk of developing amylotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than those who had never smoked. Ex-smokers had an even greater risk, 44%, of having ALS  than people who had never smoked.

    The study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found that the risk rose 9% for every 10 years of smoking and that heavy smokers were at greater risk than lighter smokers: the risk increased by 10% for every 10 cigarettes smoked each day.,

     The researchers said: 'Better understanding of the relation between smoking and ALS may further the discovery of other risk factors and help elucidate the nature of the disease.'

    ALS causes degeneration of nerves and leads to wasting, weakness and decreased control over muscles. There is no cure.
     
    Source: Nursing in Practice, 15 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hkAJZF

  • Russia: 20 years on - smoking ban may finally reach Russia

    Smoking indoors in Russia could soon be largely prohibited, according to Dmitry Yanin, chairman of the board of the international confederation of consumer societies.

    Yanin is planning to put forward new legislation to  restrict the spread of cigarette smoke.

    “We hope that these changes will happen in line with an approved anti-tobacco concept which was signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last September,” he said.  “Among other things, this means that virtually all indoor smoking will be banned.”
     
    However, Russia has repeatedly come to the brink of banning tobacco in public, only to see the legislation slip away like a wisp of smoke.
     
    And voluntary efforts to curb dependence on the weed have struggled, with a planned Moscow no-smoking week lasting a mere 24 hours as venues feared they would drive out custom.
     
    But Yanin believes that at last things are going to change – with Putin’s signature to back him up.
    Source: Moscow News, 14 February 2011
    Link: http://bit.ly/hrExob