HEADLINES

• Half of shopkeepers sell tobacco to adults buying on kids’ behalf
• Stub out car smoke says charity
• Scotland: Minister accused of intolerance after branding fireworks smokers 'foul'
• Letter: Tobacco must go in plain packs
• Saving Lives, Taking Risks... and NCDs
• WTO issues mixed ruling on US-Indonesia clove cigarette spat

• Half of shopkeepers sell tobacco to adults buying on kids’ behalf

  One in two shopkeepers have sold tobacco to adults who were buying on behalf of children, a survey by the Tobacco Retailers Alliance has found.

  Half of the 1,062 retailers questioned in the survey claimed they were aware of proxy purchasing in their shops.

  The Tobacco Retailers Alliance repeated its calls for Westminster to follow Scotland's lead and outlaw proxy purchasing in light of the latest results.

  Under current legislation, it is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under 18. However, it is only in Scotland that adults face prosecution for buying cigarettes for minors.

  The figure was worst in the South East, where 60% of retailers reported adults legally buying tobacco for under 18s.

  Sixty per cent of retailers also claimed they were aware of smuggled or counterfeit tobacco being sold in their area.
   

  Source: The Grocer - 03 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/pmd6xL

• Stub out car smoke says charity

  The British Lung Foundation has urged Scotland to follow the lead of Wales and do more to stop people smoking in cars when children are present.

  Wales is considering bringing in a ban on smoking in cars when children are travelling, if education programmes do not have the desired effect.

  A ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces came into force in 2006.

  However, experts said the amount of second-hand smoke children were exposed to had not changed since the ban.

  A recent study in Scotland suggested air quality inside a smoker's car was comparable to industrial smog in cities such as Beijing or Moscow - even when the driver had windows open.

  Source: BBC News - 06 September 2011
  Link: http://bbc.in/qhwNCt

• Scotland: Minister accused of intolerance after branding fireworks smokers 'foul'

  Scotland's Environment Minister has launched an angry tirade against smokers who lit up in Princes Street Gardens during the fireworks display.

  Stewart Stevenson on Twitter branded four people puffing away next to him during the end of festival exhibition as "foul", and also praised New York's ban on smoking outdoors.

  Mr Stevenson's comments have riled anti-ban campaigners who, fearing smoking laws in Scotland could be extended to cover the nation's parks, accused him of being "intolerant" and "illiberal".

  The Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP wrote on the social networking site: "At Fireworks Concert. 4 smokers in Princes Street Gardens - all next to us - foul. Central Park NYC have banned smoking - well done."

  The Scottish Government recently said it had "no plans" to extend the smoking laws in the near future, but has admitted that passive smoking for children travelling in cars is a major concern for ministers.

  However, groups hit out at any hint of extending the smoking ban to cover open-air zones.
   

  Source: The Scotsman - 06 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/pUfnIz

• Letter: Tobacco must go in plain packs

  Sir, Martyn Wythers from Embrace Brands (Letters, 20 August, p32) correctly highlights the importance of marketing innovations to the tobacco industry following restrictions on advertising.

  Packaging is now the final and most ubiquitous tobacco advertisement, allowing the industry to continue to reach impressionable youth via branding that gives deceptive messages of sophistication and glamour.

  This is why it is so essential that the government introduces plain packaging of tobacco products.

  Tobacco is unlike any other brand in that it is known to shorten the lives of half its long-term users. Plain packaging would reduce the appeal of tobacco products to children, increase the prominence of health warnings and counter the false impression that certain brands are less harmful.

  Dave Clark, senior policy & campaigns officer, Action on Smoking & Health 

  Source: The Grocer - 03 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/pEDw8w

• Saving Lives, Taking Risks... and NCDs

  We're hearing more and more in the media about the UN General Assembly meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which will take place in New York on 19-20th September. Scientists and researchers are grappling with the technical issues, politicians and diplomats are engaging with economic and policy matters.

  But a lot of people still seem puzzled about why, now, have NCDs suddenly come to the top of the global health agenda? Peter Byass, Professor of Global Health, and Director of the Umeå Centre for Global Health Research, explains the relevance of NCDs.
   

  Source: Huffington Post - 04 September 2011
  Link: http://huff.to/qIGD6Y

• WTO issues mixed ruling on US-Indonesia clove cigarette spat

  The World Trade Organization has ruled that the US flouted trade rules by banning the sales of Indonesian clove cigarettes, but said Washington’s aim of cutting youth smoking with the restriction was “legitimate.”

  Washington had banned the production and sales of clove cigarettes under a health act that also blocks the sales of other cigarettes with flavors such as grape, coffee or strawberry, in a bid to prevent the young from getting hooked on smoking.

  The move prompted Indonesia to lodge the case against the US at the WTO, with Jakarta arguing that the act had not been applied uniformly as it did not cover menthol cigarettes, a claim that the WTO upheld in its ruling.

  However, the WTO threw out the Indonesian claim that the ban was unnecessary.

  The WTO concluded by asking the United States to bring its restrictions into conformity with international trade rules.

  Source: Jakarta Globe - 03 September 2011
  Link: http://bit.ly/pr9C5M