Scotland: Film sparks tobacco ad ban row

A charity based in Edinburgh has accused tobacco companies of attempting to water down Scottish Government plans to reduce smoking. ASH Scotland hit out after the Tobacco Retailers Alliance launched a film highlighting the impact a ban on advertising cigarettes would have on local businesses. It said that the only people attempting to thwart Holyrood's Tobacco Bill – which would ban promotional displays and strengthen punishments on irresponsible vendors – were those with a financial interest.

Chief executive Sheila Duffy said: "The TRA, which is backed and funded by the tobacco industry, is seeking to weaken the Scottish Government's Tobacco Bill. The tobacco industry is obviously desperate to keep promotional displays."

Source: New Scotsman, 29 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/IcOEJ

Northern Ireland: Smoking drivers 'worst offenders'

Almost nine out of every 10 people fined for breaking the smoking ban in Belfast are commercial drivers. Van and taxi drivers and others who drive as part of their job are the worst offenders, according to the city council. Since the ban was introduced two years ago, 88% of the 230 fixed penalty notices issued were in relation to people smoking in vehicles. Anyone caught smoking in a work vehicle is subject to a £50 fine.

Cathal Mullaghan, chairman of the council's health and environmental services committee, said: "We understood there would be a 'bedding-in' period for the legislation and council staff have worked tirelessly with businesses and employers across the city to explain how the law affects them and their workers. We want to remind anyone who drives for a living, whether it be a white van, a taxi or a goods vehicle, that smoking behind the wheel is against the law and must be stubbed out."

The SDLP councillor said all work vehicles that are used by more than one person are required by law to display 'no smoking' signage. Failure to display signage attracts a £200 fixed penalty notice.

Source: BBC News, 30 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/ifCxB

Drug helps pregnant drug users to stop smoking

Treatment with an antidepressant drug significantly improves the mood in pregnant substance-dependent women who also smoke cigarettes, according to preliminary results reported at the 2009 Joint Conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) and SNRT-Europe. The data also suggest that the antidepressant - bupropion - helps these women curb their smoking.

"We are encouraged by the findings given that both depression and smoking are highly prevalent in pregnant, substance-dependent patients and are associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes," said Dr. Margaret S. Chisolm, assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Chisolm pointed out that up to 90 percent of pregnant women who are dependent on illicit substances continue to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy. Smoking is at least as harmful to the developing fetus as illicit drugs and increases the risk of miscarriage, separation of the placenta from the uterine wall before delivery, low infant birth weight and increased fetal and infant mortality. Depression also occurs in up to 75 percent of pregnant, substance-dependent patients, she added.

The results of the study showed that women who used bupropion and citalopram or escitalopram all reduced their smoking. However, there was a trend for greater smoking reduction for women in the bupropion group, who reduced their smoking by an average of 6.4 cigarettes per day compared with 0.4 cigarettes per day for the women who received citalopram or escitalopram. Patients treated with bupropion also rated their mood, on a scale of 0 to 10, as having improved by 1.9 points versus 0.3 points for patients in the escitalopram/citalopram groups.

Chisolm said that plans are underway for a prospective, randomly assigned controlled pilot trial examining smoking outcomes for bupropion and another antidepressant, sertraline (Zoloft), in depressed pregnant women smokers who are addicted to illicit substances, after which her group will seek funding for a larger trial of the same design. If bupropion is found to be more effective for smoking cessation than sertraline, the investigators plan to repeat the trials in non-depressed pregnant women.

Source: Reuters UK, 29 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/Pzaef

Greece: Government launches smoking ban campaign

Greece's health minister has said that the government has launched a promotion campaign to help introduce restrictions on smoking in public places as of July 1 this year. Addressing reporters in Athens, Greek Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said the nationwide campaign is targeted at safeguarding the nation's health. The minister cited a recent public survey suggesting that six in 10 Greek smokers support the campaign.

With Greeks considered among the most passionate smokers in the European Union, Avramopoulos said 20,000 Greeks die a year of smoking-related diseases, which annually costs the national health system some $2.8 billion. The law says all offices, restaurants, cafes and other public places must designate areas for smokers. Managers that fail to respect the law will face fines.

Source: UPI, 29 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/QazqS

Scotland: Cigarettes seized in police raid

More than 26,000 cigarettes have been seized by police and trading standards officers following an early morning raid in Ayrshire. Officers entered an searched a property in Irvine, and recovered the cigarettes and 95 pouches of tobacco. They also seized £1,420 in cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act. A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said a 62-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal for alleged tobacco offences.

Source: BBC News, 29 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/fPEIw