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ASH Daily News

25-27 November 2000

Headlines
'Bar staff at risk from smoke'
'IH & RA platform for tobacco firm angers health campaigners'
'Automakers Dropping Ashtrays'
Oxford Students back smoke free area (again!)
'Customs seize Rolls Royce in smuggling crackdown'
Imperial Tobacco reports rise in profits
New Statesman: Profile of Tessa Jowell

Full Text

'Bar staff at risk from smoke'

A New Zealand newspaper reports, 'Asking for a smoke-free area in a bar
where smoking is allowed is like asking for a urine-free area in a dirty
swimming pool, cancer researchers say. They are concerned at the damage
second-hand smoke is doing to staff and non-smoking patrons at cafes, bars,
and restaurants around the country. It is estimated that 400 deaths are
caused by second-hand tobacco smoke each year in New Zealand.'

The article adds, 'Dr Tony Reeder, of the Otago School of Medicine, said
about half of the 11,000 workers employed in New Zealand restaurants, cafes,
and bars were unprotected against second-hand smoke. They might be exposed
to as much as six times more tobacco smoke than any other workers. It was a
double standard to have safeguards for office workers, yet give no
protection to those in the hospitality industry.'

Source: The Christchurch Press, 25 November 2000

'IH & RA platform for tobacco firm angers health campaigners'

The Caterer and Hotelkeeper reports that, 'anti-smoking campaigners have
criticised the International Hotel & Restaurant Association for devoting a
session at is annual congress last week (16-20, November) to a smoking
programme backed by cigarette company Philip Morris. The session on the
scheme called Courtesy of Choice, was followed by a lunch sponsored by the
cigarette maker.'

A spokesperson for the National Asthma Campaign said, 80 % of asthmatics
find smoking makes their condition worse. "Courtesy of choice doesn't give
asthmatics any choice at all."

Amanda Sandford, of ASH, said that she was disappointed that the health
lobby hadn't been given equal representation at the congress: "We need a
proper debate, not one dominated by the cigarette industry."

Source: Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 23 November 2000

'Automakers Dropping Ashtrays'

The New York Times reports that American automobile manufacturers are moving
towards cars that don't provide ashtrays and cigarette lighters. The move to
smokeless cars started at Chrysler, whose 1995 Cirrus and Dodge Stratus
sedans were the first to be sold without ashtrays as standard equipment.
Other car makers have seized on the idea, and even in cars still equipped
for smoking, ashtrays are smaller than ever. "You respond to consumer
demand," said Art Garner, a spokesman for American Honda Motor Co., the
Torrance, Calif, subsidiary of the Japanese manufacturer. "Consumers say, 'I
don't need an ashtray. What I would like is a little storage place here. I
don't need a lighter. What I would like is a place to plug in my cellphone."

Source: The New York Times, 24 November 2000

Oxford Students back smoke free area (again!)

Students at Oxford University went to the polls again over their smoke free
bar. The pro-smoking lobby had called for a second ballot, claiming that the
smoke free area was bad for business. Although the pro-smoking students
provided no figures to support the claim, SASH (Students for Action on
Smoking and Health) argued that the choice of a smoking bar and a
non-smoking bar that banned smoking was a sensible proposal that customers
liked. Over 1,500 customers voted, and just over 58% backed the smoke free
area.

Patrick Mackerras, Chair of SASH (Students for Action on Smoking and
Health), said: "This is a terrific result. Customers have now voted twice
for the smoke free bar and everyone knows that providing your customers with
what they want is good for business. Having a smoke free bar and smoking bar
allows everyone a choice."

Makerras added: "We hope now that the will of the customers be recognised
and that the smoke free area will be marketed as an asset."

Source: ASH Daily News, 27 November 2000

'Customs seize Rolls Royce in smuggling crackdown'

The Sunday Telegraph reports that, 'Customs have seized their first
Rolls-Royce in a crackdown on bootleggers who are flooding Britain with
cheap cigarettes and tobacco.'

The article adds, 'Inside searchers found: a litre of spirits, 180 litres of
beer, 30 litres of wine, 12 litres of sparkling wine, 25 litres of diesel,
7,500 cigarettes, 250 grams of pipe tobacco and 30 kilos of hand-rolling
tobacco. Nigel Knott, a Customs spokesman, said: "They had been seen before,
they had been warned before and they were behaving like serial bootleggers.
"The car was seized there and then, and they were left to walk home. All
admitted that they had received previous warnings and their stories were
inconsistent. There is no mercy. It doesn't matter if you are in a Rolls, a
Ferrari, a Lamborghini or an old banger - we will have it off you if we
catch you bootlegging." Customs officers based at the Channel ports are
seizing between 400 and 500 cars a month. Many are sent to a crusher; others
are auctioned. The fate of the Rolls has not yet been decided.'

Source: The Sunday Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday, 26 November 2000

Imperial Tobacco reports rise in profits

The Financial Times reports that, 'Imperial Tobacco is expected to report a
rise in profits from £400m to £445m for the year to September 30, driven by
its overseas operations.'

Source: Financial Times, 25 November 2000

New Statesman: Profile of Tessa Jowell

There is a profile of former public health minister, Tessa Jowell. Ms
Jowell, who is now in charge of the New Deal employment scheme and also
minister for women, talks about her time as public health minister and other
areas of her work. The article asks, 'So, does she mind being called the
Nation's Nanny? She certainly doesn't like it much: "I think the nanny jibe
has become a catch-all term of abuse, which is used by Tory politicians and
right-wing commentators to castigate policy that they feel generally
uncomfortable about."

The article also reports, 'Jowell has felt the full fury of smokers and the
tobacco industry with her anti-smoking campaigns. They assert, with the
backing of many newspapers, that it is simply no business of government to
tell people what they ought or ought not to do; that is not what government
is for. Jowell is unapologetic: "It is the business of government to tell
you what the risks of smoking are, and if you want to look at the single
greatest cause of health inequality, it's the rate at which the poorest die
of smoking-related illnesses. And so, if you want to tackle poor health, and
health inequality, you tackle smoking."

Source: New Statesman, 27 November 2000
Karl Brookes
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW
Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 5902
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7613 0531
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