'Poison' alert on fake cigarettes

Ministers have issued a warning about poisons in fake cigarettes being smuggled into Britain from the Far East.

The move came ahead of a report this week which will reveal details of the war on tobacco smugglers.

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said: "There are factories in the Far East manufacturing thousands of tonnes of counterfeit cigarettes. They often contain very dangerous chemicals and my advice to smokers is to be extremely careful."

Mr Woolas said 500 immigration officers are now working with customs officials to detect minor defects on cigarette packs at UK ports and airports.

A report from the Border Agency will reveal that more than 14 billion cigarettes have been seized in the last eight years.

Source: The Mirror, 23 November 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/rh4d3

Smoke-ban rebel in High Court next month

Blackpool Council’s High Court bid to revoke the licence of a bar run by smoke ban rebel Hamish Howitt is set for 2nd December. The council appealed after magistrates over-ruled the decision to revoke the premises licence of Delboy’s Sports Bar.

The original review was sought on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder, protection of public safety and protection of children from harm. The council claimed trading standards and health and safety officers had uncovered problems including insecure carbon dioxide cylinders, unmaintained electrical installations, a basement staircase in a state of disrepair and damaged toilets.

Howitt was also accused of failing two underage test purchases. None of the charges related to flouting the smoking ban. Magistrates said there was not sufficient evidence to revoke the licence.

Howitt told the MA that smoking is still allowed at Delboys. He also revealed he would be representing himself at the High Court in London.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I think I will win.”

Source: Morning Advertiser, 24 November 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/enPpP

Cigarettes to be hidden

Shops are to be forced to remove cigarettes from display and keep them under the counter, in the Government's latest crackdown on smoking. The strategy is expected to be announced in the queens speech on the 3rd December.

Source: The Observer, 23 November 2008

Dutch health minister announces measures to enforce smoking ban

The Dutch health minister, Ab Klink, has announced tough measures to enforce the smoking ban in the hospitality sector after a rebellion among small cafes in city centres threatened to spread across the country. 

Almost all the cafes in the centre of Den Bosch, in the south of the country, were defying the ban this week and were photographed returning ashtrays to tables. Similar action is reported in Nijmegen, Tilburg, and Utrecht, with as many as 12,000 cafes involved.

In response Mr Klink wrote to MPs saying, "Let there be no misunderstanding. The cabinet takes this seriously. In this country laws are to be followed and that goes for everyone."

He announced that in addition to the administrative fines imposed by the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the law of "economic offences" will now come into force. This means that higher fines can be imposed more swiftly in cases of "structural contravention." Ultimately cafes could be temporarily shut. The food authority’s 200 controllers will be able to call on the support of the police and criminal investigators. Mr Klink said there will be a direct "tit for tat" policy.

Mr Klink also held talks with the industry body Royal Horeca Netherlands but refused its demands for government compensation for the owners of cafes. The industry body will meet on 9 December to decide whether to withdraw support for the smoking ban, which, it argues, has caused "chaos" and "disastrous consequences," with a 25% drop in turnover, threatening 1500 cafes with closure.

Meanwhile a national demonstration to save small cafes is scheduled for 29 November in The Hague.

A report on environmental tobacco smoke by the Dutch Institute of Public Health cites research that shows that the Netherlands is 14th in a league table of 30 European countries’ tobacco control measures. The UK comes first (http://www.ensp.org/files/30_european_countries_text_final.pdf).

Source: British Medical Journal, 21 November 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/YVCKd

Booze cruise allowances slashed

Cross-Channel trade faces a pre-Christmas threat after Euro MPs voted to cut the amount of cigarettes and alcohol that British tourists could bring back from the Continent. The move is sure to anger ferry operators gearing up for the busiest time of the year as Brits flock to France and Belgium to stock up for the festivities.

MEPs voted to approve rules to slash tobacco allowances by 90 per cent and alcohol limits by half for shoppers bringing goods home from other EU countries.

The European Parliament set the strict new guidelines for “personal consumption” at 400 cigarettes and cut the allowance for spirits, wine and beer in half, following a close vote in Strasbourg. There has already been uproar at the plan, which could become law in a matter of days.

Cross-Channel shoppers have branded the move as unfair. “If we are part of Europe, why can’t we benefit from the cheaper continental prices,” Mike Hardinge asked Kent News as he set out for Calais. This is yet another way Britain is treated unfairly by Euro MPs.”

More than three million Brits head to France and Belgium every year to shop. Huge warehouses selling cut-price beer, wine and spirits have sprung up at all of France’s Channel ports, while in Belgium tobacco retailers welcome shoppers in villages along the border with France.

Source: kentnews.co.uk, 25 November 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/4E741

Alcohol & Tobacco: VAT savings offset

Those hoping the Government's decision to slash VAT rates would make it cheaper to fill up the tank, or binge on booze and cigarettes, were left disappointed yesterday. Alistair Darling said that the reduction of VAT "lowers the amount of tax paid on tobacco, alcohol and petrol."

Rather than letting consumers enjoy the resulting savings, he added: "I will offset the VAT reduction by increasing all these duties by an amount which should keep the overall cost to consumers the same this year".

Source: The Independent, 25 November 2008
Link: http://tiny.cc/K3pxx