HEADLINES

• Essex: £405 fine for dropping cigarette butt
• Anti-cig vending ban action continues
• Smokers face greater risk of prostate cancer death
• Canada: Imperial sues First Nations tobacco firms
• U.S. to unveil graphic tobacco warning labels
• Lebanon: Hookahs banned in beach face lift

• Essex: £405 fine for dropping cigarette butt

  A mother of two who was ordered to pay £405 for dropping a cigarette butt said pursuing her all the way to court was a ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money.

  A council worker spotted Natalie Wilkinson, 34, of Wisdoms Green, Coggeshall, dropping the butt from her Ford Mondeo.

  She was prosecuted by Braintree Council because she ignored the initial fine of £75.

  Miss Wilkinson admitted littering and not paying the fine when the case went to Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.

  She was fined £290 and ordered to pay £115 costs.

  Source: Daily Gazette - 21 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/kAUSwJ

• Anti-cig vending ban action continues

  Imperial Tobacco says it will continue its campaign to reverse the imminent cigarette vending machine ban despite the Court of Appeal upholding the ban.

  The tobacco manufacturer said it will ask the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, and wants the ban delayed until after this appeal is heard.

  Source: Morning Advertiser - 20 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/kpxBGZ

• Smokers face greater risk of prostate cancer death

  Men with prostate cancer who smoke increase significantly their chances of dying of the disease, a study has found. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, US also linked smoking at the time of diagnosis to aggressive tumours.

  More than 5,300 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1986 and 2006 took part in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Men with prostate cancer who were current smokers had a 61 per cent increased risk of dying from the disease compared with non-smokers. They had a similarly increased risk of recurring cancer.

  Smoking was associated with more aggressive disease at diagnosis. Among those diagnosed with cancer which had not yet spread, smokers had an 80 per cent increased risk of dying.
  
  But the study also found that prostate cancer death rates for former smokers matched those of non-smokers after they had quit for ten or more years.

  Source: The Scotsman - 21 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/mqN1X0

• Canada: Imperial sues First Nations tobacco firms

  Imperial Tobacco Canada has launched a $1.5 billion lawsuit against tobacco manufacturers and retailers on First Nations reserves.

  "We operate with over 200 laws and regulations," Eric Gagnon, a spokesman for Imperial, was quoted as telling Postmedia News on Friday. "There's no reason why tobacco manufacturers on First Nations reserves should be treated any differently from legal manufacturers. This is what the lawsuit is all about."

  Imperial also wants to bring smaller producers – whether operating legally or not – in as third parties to a lawsuit being brought against it by the Ontario government, which is suing major tobacco manufacturers, including Imperial, for health-care costs allegedly resulting from tobacco-related illnesses.

  If what the Ontario government claims is true, Gagnon said, then tobacco businesses selling and operating on reserves in Ontario should also respond to the same allegations as those faced by Imperial.  

  Source: The First Perspective - 20 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/jYmqSA

• U.S. to unveil graphic tobacco warning labels

  U.S. health officials are about to unveil nine graphic warning labels showing harmful effects of smoking that must be on cigarette packages and in advertisements starting in October 2012.

  Dead bodies, diseased lungs and a man on a ventilator were among the images for revamped tobacco labels proposed in November under a law that put the multibillion-dollar tobacco industry under the control of the Food and Drug Administration.

  Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg are due to announce the new warnings at the White House on Tuesday 21st, administration officials said.

  Source: Reuters - 21 June 2011
  Link: http://reut.rs/lFJUMv

• Lebanon: Hookahs banned in beach face lift

  Lebanon’s southern coastal city of Sidon has banned tobacco smoking at its public beach, according to a story by Mohammad Zaatari for the Beirut Daily Star.

  In addition, a corner of the beach has been dedicated to erecting educational billboards to raise people’s awareness about the dangers of speeding, drug use and HIV-AIDS.

  Source: Tobacco Reporter - 20 June 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/kces4h