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ASH Daily News for 14 May 2010

HEADLINES

  • Son calls for smoking ban after carehome fire

    The son of elderly residents in the new Joseph Hadlum Court care home has blasted its safety rules following a fire caused by a discarded cigarette.

    Last Monday a serious fire in one of the apartments at the centre in Eastern Avenue left a man in hospital with severe burns. He is currently being treated in a specialist unit where his condition is said to be serious.

    Kent Fire and Rescue say they suspect the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette.

    Daniel Gower, whose parents moved into the new centre when it opened in December, says their lives are being put at risk by the management’s refusal to ban smoking in individual’s apartments, despite the majority of residents requesting a ban.

    He said: “There seems to be an effort by the managers to hush up what is going on and ignore the request of the residents for a smoking ban in apartments. This is completely logical because if you are going to allow smoking in a care home it should be somewhere where people can be supervised.”

    Jospeh Hadlum Court is run by the company Housing 21 with backing from Kent County Council and Ashford council.

    Mr Gower said: “They are happy to ban people having pets in their apartment, but when it comes to something serious like this they turn a blind eye.

    “There have been a lot of other allegations being made by the residents about the poor treatment by staff and poor food. This flies in the face of the Housing 21 claim to be looking after old people with dignity.”

    Four fire engines were sent to deal with the fire and ten people were evacuated from neighbouring apartments.

    Mr Gower said: “They say they can’t ban smoking because it infringes on people’s rights in their own apartments. If that’s the case then they are infringing people’s human rights by not allowing pets.”

    When the centre opened it was hailed as a new way to provide homes for elderly people with extra care needs, as part of the Better Homes Active Lives Partnership.

    Mr Gower said: “The place is not living up to expectations at all. Visiting relatives are the only ones who seem to inject any sort of liveliness into the place. When we are not there it seems as if the residents are just left to do nothing.”

    Virginia McClane, operations and partnership Manager for Housing 21 said: “We were deeply concerned to learn that a tenant at Joseph Hadlum Court suffered serious injury when fire broke out in his apartment. Our thoughts are with this gentleman and his family.

    “Joseph Hadlum Court is an extra care scheme designed for independent living where residents hold individual tenancies for their properties. This means that whilst smoking restrictions apply in communal areas as they would in any public space, the tenants have the same rights as tenants living in social housing elsewhere when it comes to their own apartments.

    “All apartments are fitted with heat detectors and smoke alarms. The damage was contained within one apartment and no other tenants or staff suffered injury or loss.”

    Kent County Council says it will be working with Housing 21 to investigate the issues Mr Gower has raised.

    Source: Your Ashford - 12 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cXaBpV

  • Bangor man challenges smoking ban

    A North Down man prosecuted for breaching the smoking ban has pledged to take his challenge to the legislation all the way to Europe.

    Chris Carter vowed to fight on after a High Court judge indicated he was minded to dismiss his judicial review case.

    Mr Carter, 56, was contesting laws which led to him being fined for lighting up at council offices.

    The former security consultant from Bangor claims the information which formed part of the basis for introducing the ban was incorrect.

    He argues that he was denied the chance to call former Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward and former Health Minister Paul Goggins as part of his appeal against being prosecuted.

    He was ordered to pay £1,250 in fines and costs for allegedly lighting a cigarette at North Down Borough Council headquarters in 2007.

    Representing himself, he sought leave from Mr Justice Treacy to apply for a judicial review.

    But lawyers for the Secretary of State opposed his case by claiming it was without merits.

    Barrister David McMillen contended that public bodies should not be expected to waste money on the case.

    After indicating he was minded to dismiss the case, Mr Justice Treacy said he would deliver a written judgment next month.

    However, Mr Carter insisted it was too early to say he had lost the case.

    He said outside the court: "It would be foolhardy of me to walk away when there is another opportunity to go further through the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.

    "If you like we can take this on into Europe itself. If circumstances dictate that is what can happen."

    Source: UTV - 13 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/9InXMC

  • Police appeal after £3,000 cigarettes theft at Ellesmere Port petrol station

    Police are calling on motorists to help them catch the thieves who stole £3,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco from a lorry.

    The theft happened at Shell petrol station in Station Road, Ellesmere Port, at about 9am on Monday, April 19.

    The driver had parked the cream and red coloured Mercedes van while he went inside the shop to make a delivery.

    Thieves then went into the back of the van and stole the cigarettes, which were contained in three boxes.

    Officers are keen to trace a motorist who may be a key witness as she was filling her car with petrol at the time of the theft.

    She had told the lorry driver that someone had been into his van, but unfortunately she did not leave her details.

    Detective constable Tom Murphy is appealing to this motorist to come forward and make contact with him on 0845 458 0000.

    A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said: “We are still keen to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the offence or have any information which could lead to the identification of the offenders, or on what happened to the stolen cigarettes.

    “If you can help in any way at all please contact DC Murphy.”

    Source: Cheshire News - 13 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/cxqpMV

  • USA: Tobacco prevention experts say transition to smoke-free has been smooth

    Seven months after the ban on smoking in all public buildings in Montana took effect, the transition has been relatively smooth.

    “I’m very happy to report that we have more than 90 percent compliance,” said Linda Lee, Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program section supervisor, on Wednesday.

    Lee and about 100 tobacco prevention specialists and public health advocates are attending a two-day statewide conference on tobacco prevention at the Crowne Plaza.

    The Montana Clean Indoor Air Act was passed by the Legislature in 2005. The law required all public buildings except casinos and bars to go smoke-free on Oct. 1, 2005.

    On Oct. 1, 2009, the ban expanded to include all enclosed public spaces — including bars and casinos that in the past catered to smoking patrons. There was some concern that owners of those establishments would balk at the law.

    Lee thinks the reason for the success in getting the businesses on board has been a combination of education, a bit of peer pressure and the recognition by some that it’s the right thing to do.

    “They now finally understand that secondhand smoke is extremely toxic and no one should be exposed because it actually causes heart attacks and lung cancer and emphysema,” she said.

    Tobacco is also the No. 1 cause of death from a preventable cause, Lee said, adding that 1,400 people die every year from smoking-related illnesses.

    By the end of April, only 39 of the state’s 2,800 licensed liquor establishments and eight other Montana businesses had complaints filed against them for violating the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act.

    Besides protecting bar and casino patrons, Lee said, the clean air law also protects workers. With studies that show that a person with heart disease could suffer a heart attack after exposure to secondhand smoke for 30 minutes, the law is crucial, she said.

    The Montana Tobacco Quit Line, which is celebrating its sixth anniversary this month, didn’t see a spike in calls last October, Lee said. That might be due to the fact that the law was implemented in phases, she said.

    The largest increase came in March 2009 when the federal tobacco tax increased, Lee said. Since the phone line opened in 2004, more than 30,000 people have called and more than 10,000 Montanans have stopped smoking.

    The quit line is a free telephone-based service that provides Montana tobacco users who want to quit with a personalized quit plan, coaching, nicotine replacement therapy and reduced-cost medicines.

    Tobacco prevention specialists work in communities throughout the state, including on the reservations, to promote the quit line, develop youth and adult coalitions and educate businesses about the clean air law.

    “One of our goals is helping everybody understand that the tobacco industry is targeting our kids as replacement smokers and chewers to replace the smokers and chewers that are dying and quitting,” Lee said.

    Over the past seven months, the specialists also have been tracking compliance in their counties, she said. One of them, Paula Wood, in Ravalli County, saw 17 complaints filed against two casinos in Hamilton soon after the ban went into effect.

    She and a sanitarian from the local health department visited the casinos, bringing educational materials and asking if they needed help to put the law into effect.

    “They weren’t really very open to that idea, so we gave them about three or four chances,” Wood said.

    A letter from the county attorney saying the next step would be to fine the businesses didn’t help either. Finally, Wood pulled together a clean indoor air act implementation team of local officials that threatened a civil suit to close the businesses.

    That, combined with media scrutiny, convinced the casinos to go smoke-free, Wood said. She acknowledged that businesses in the two casinos dipped, but it has begun to rebound.

    “We have seen by studying other states around us that have gone tobacco free that business does pick up,” she said. “We have seen a lot of the same trends and a lot of the same outcomes that the other states experienced.”

    Dale Headdress, tobacco prevention specialist for the Fort Peck Tribes, has seen a different circumstance. Bars and casinos in Wolf Point and Poplar that are under state law must comply with the new act.

    “Tribal members that own businesses don’t have to comply, which makes it unfortunate,” he said. “You have people with asthma or emphysema, and it affects them if they go in there.”

    Headdress continues his work educating people about the dangers of smoking. And he’s hoping to draft a similar clean indoor air act for the tribes to consider.

    He added that the Fort Peck Tribes haven’t turned a blind eye to indoor smoking. It’s one of two tribes in Montana to pass a smoke-free ordinance that prevents employees from smoking in tribally owned buildings and tribally owned vehicles that transport people.

    The ordinance also prohibits people from smoking within 25 feet of any tribally owned building. It’s progress, he said.

    Source: Billings Gazette - 12 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/bQKgVw

  • USA: Judge orders mistrial in Manatee tobacco case

    A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in a Manatee (Florida) lawsuit against major tobacco companies after a juror complained she could not go on with deliberations because her fellow jurors “are mean.”

    Jimmie Willis, 69, who suffers from cancer as evidenced by a quarter-sized hole in his throat, will now have to come back in October for retrial of his lawsuit against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. Willis’ attorneys had sought more than $10 million in compensatory damages.

    Judge Edward Nicholas told the panel of five women and a man that an environment of “animosity” within the jury could not be overcome. His ruling ended a trial that lasted more than three weeks, including three days of jury deliberations.

    “We don’t want to put you in a circumstance of futility,” Nicholas said.

    One juror protested. “We didn’t decide we couldn’t come up with a verdict,” she said.

    “I realize there is a level of frustration,” the judge responded. “Especially when the stakes are high.”

    Nicholas thanked the jury, and as they walked out of the courtroom, the juror who said she could not proceed broke down in tears and headed for Willis, who was standing next to his attorneys.

    “I just couldn’t let you leave here empty-handed,” she told him. Willis shook her hand and she left, still crying. Emotions continued to run high outside the courthouse as five of the six jurors met with attorneys from both sides, at times hugging lawyers in the case. The juror who spoke to Willis in the courtroom did not take part in that gathering.

    The juror who protested the mistrial in court said afterward she felt the panel could have reached a verdict with more time. “I just wasn’t ready to give up,” she said.

    Willis’ lawsuit against the tobacco companies remains open. He claims his 36 years of smoking led to an addiction to nicotine that caused his cancer of the larynx. Defense attorneys argued he knew cigarettes were possibly dangerous to his health, and he had the choice to quit.

    Attorneys for both sides declined comment Wednesday. During the trial, attorneys for the tobacco companies also called for a mistrial, accusing Nicholas of improper communication with jurors amid deliberations.

    Nicholas spoke with jurors about difficulties in reaching a verdict in an unrecorded conversation outside the presence of attorneys for both sides, which the defense protested. Nicholas never had to rule on the motion, which became moot after he ordered the mistrial.

    Willis’ lawsuit is one of the so-called “Engle progeny,” an estimated 8,000 lawsuits in Florida filed against tobacco companies after a 2006 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.

    In 1994, Miami Dr. Howard Engle, a smoker, lent his name to a class-action lawsuit against tobacco companies representing some 700,000 sick or deceased smokers in Florida.

    A Miami jury eventually awarded $145 billion in punitive damages to be paid by the tobacco companies. An appeals court overturned that verdict, but the Florida Supreme Court later allowed members of the Engle class action to file individual suits against the tobacco companies.

    Source: Bradenton.com - 13 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/9rD6ih

  • 'Safe' Cigarettes Are as Hazardous as Tobacco, Researchers Demonstrate

    Using the same technique they developed to document the harmful effects of tobacco products, a team of researchers found that cigarettes made without tobacco or nicotine may be more carcinogenic because they actually induce more extensive DNA damage than tobacco products.

    The technique has been awarded U.S. patent No. 7,662,565.

    The research team was led by Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology. Their study will appear in the June 1 issue of Cell Cycle (Volume 9, Issue 11).

    Using laser scanning cytometry (LSC) technology to measure DNA damage response to the smoke from commercially available tobacco- and nicotine-free cigarettes, the research team expected to find the alternative products were less hazardous than regular tobacco cigarettes. However, their data suggest that exposure of cells to smoke from tobacco- and nicotine-free cigarettes leads to formation of double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs). Since DSBs are potentially carcinogenic, the data indicate that smoking tobacco- and nicotine-free cigarettes is at least as hazardous as those containing tobacco and nicotine.

    The authors conclude that their methodology to assess the potential carcinogenic properties of tobacco smoke, based on measurement of DNA damage response as assessed by LSC, provides a useful addition to the battery of genotoxic tests for probing cigarette smoke hazards. Such tests, which can be applied to evaluate the effects of cigarettes and cigarette surrogate products on human health, can be important tools for regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration or, in the case of environmental smoke, by the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Source: Science Daily - 13 May 2010
    Link: http://bit.ly/aaaq7z