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ASH Daily News

29 December 2005

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HEADLINES

Amendments to be tabled to the Health Bill

Spain: smoking laws will be a cultural change for the country

Resolutions - will we ever achieve them?


FULL TEXT

Amendments to be tabled to the Health Bill


Kevin Barron MP, Labour chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Health, has said that he is considering tabling an amendment to the Health Bill early in the new year for a comprehensive ban on smoking in pubs.

One senior Labour MP said: "It will be known as the health committee amendment. That will carry enormous weight and authority. It is more likely that the Government will be defeated now."

Other Labour MPs ready to table the amendment to ban smoking in pubs include Andrew Mackinlay, who tabled a Commons motion signed by more than 90 MPs, including around 60 Labour MPs, in support of a total ban.

Mr Mackinlay said: "There is time for the Government to rethink its position or it will be defeated. The Irish Republic has already imposed a total ban on smoking in pubs. It doesn't put staff in an invidious position. It simply works."

Fellow ministers said they believe the Government will be defeated and are urging the Prime Minister to overrule the Chief Whip and order a free vote to avoid further embarrassment and damage to his authority.

The Tory leader David Cameron has told Tory MPs they will have a free vote. Crispin Blunt, the Tory whip on the Health Bill, said: "We will have a free vote but I will vote for a ban. The Government has made a complete mess of this bill."

Independent 29/12/05 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article335474.ece



Spain: smoking laws will be a cultural change for the country


The Spanish, who are credited with inventing cigarettes 500 years ago, smoke more per capita than anyone in Europe but the Greeks. Starting Jan. 1 smoking will be restricted in bars in Spain, this will be a significant change for people who tend to consider their favourite bar an extension of their living room.

"We can go to a bar four or five times in a day, to have breakfast, a coffee break, a beer," said José Luis Guerra, a deputy director at the Spanish Hotel and Restaurant Federation.

The law will prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants that are larger than 100 square meters, or about 1,100 square feet, although these may set up small smoking rooms that are sealed off from the main areas. It will also ban smoking in the workplace and a variety of other enclosed public spaces, and will tighten restrictions on tobacco advertising and the selling of tobacco products.

According to the World Health Organisation around two dozen European countries have banned smoking in the workplace, and Norway, Ireland, Malta, Italy, and Sweden have prohibited smoking in bars and restaurants. Spain is the latest country to impose restrictions.

The smoking legislation has been a personal crusade of Spain's health minister, Elena Salgado, who made the fight against tobacco use a top priority shortly after the Socialist Party won power in the parliamentary elections of March 2004. The measure was approved by Parliament on Dec. 15.

In Spain, about 75% of people support the new law in principle, according to a poll released in November by the Center for Sociological Investigation. But 70% say it will be difficult for the public to obey it.

International Herald Tribune 29/12/05 http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/28/news/smoke.php


Resolutions - will we ever achieve them?


For many, this is the time of year when we again commit to New Year's resolutions, often these are the same ones we've been struggling to fulfil since our schooldays. Over 4,000 members of Friends Reunited website have announced their New Year intentions.

Top of the list is 'losing a bit of weight' (12%), followed closely by 'giving up smoking' (10%). Nearly one in ten said they intended to travel more and 5% are looking for Mr or Mrs Right.

Jon Clark, head of Friends Reunited, said: "A new year really does signal a new start for many members and by announcing your intentions for next year through the Friends Reunited website it can give an added incentive to stick to it. Even if it is the seventh or seventeenth time you've committed to it.

Friends Reunited 29/12/05 http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/press/Resolutions.htm
Also reported in The Sun 29/12/05

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