Tobacco.org

• Illegal cigarette trade has plenty of puff  

RIGHT in the middle of Australia's biggest city, you can walk into a shop and buy an illegal packet of under-the-counter cigarettes for $7.

Apart from being much cheaper than the mainstream brands, which sell for about $13 a packet, they don't have any of those confronting health warnings.

The ready availability of illegal cigarettes, which are understood to be in stock near many housing commission estates around the country, runs counter to a blizzard of government policies designed to discourage smoking. These include a NSW government ban on smoking in cars carrying children that started this week. . . .

Inner-Sydney resident Les Shearman has been trying for years to expose the illegal cigarette trade because of his concern about its impact on his friends' health. He believes the ready availability of cheap cigarettes is a major factor in their excessive smoking.

The Weekend Australian accompanied Mr Shearman while he purchased an illegal packet from Broadway Tobacco, located on one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. It took only seconds for him to purchase the pack from the woman behind the counter. No questions. No fuss.

"They are incredibly easy to get," he said. . . .

"If it is so easy for the likes of you and me to find a shop selling illegal cigarettes, why is it so difficult for the Australian Federal Police to find them?" Professor Chapman said.

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Renewed push to ban cigarette branding on packs 

PRESSURE is mounting for brand labels to be removed from cigarette packets - a move that the tobacco industry bluffed a previous Labor government out of pursuing, according to anti-tobacco campaigners.

The Public Health Association, the Cancer Council and Heart Foundation yesterday swung behind Family First Senator Steve Fielding's move to introduce legislation banning brand labels on cigarette packs. "There is no case for allowing any glossy brand promotion for a product that is lethal and addictive," Senator Fielding said.

The national preventative health taskforce in its report handed to the Government this week is expected to call for the branding ban - which the tobacco industry has fiercely resisted in the past.

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• Abbott slams 'trivial' smoking ban  

Coalition frontbencher Tony Abbott says New South Wales is playing nanny state politics with its ban on smoking in cars when children are present.

The former federal health minister has told a public health debate at Sydney University that smoking in front of children is a trivial issue and states should not intervene. . . .

"I was a child that was regularly imprisoned in a car with heavy smokers," he said.

"My parents both smoked heavily when I was a kid. Now has it done me any harm?

"You be the judge... maybe I would have been six foot six and I would have had much greater intelligence, who knows? . . .

"I personally would not get hung up on something, in my view, as trivial as smoking while the kids are in the car."

Long time anti-smoking campaigner Professor Mike Daube from Curtin University disagrees.

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Prison smoking bans to start today  

Smoking will be banned inside most of the State’s prisons today and limited to designated areas, prompting renewed calls for the State Government to crack down on a prisoner’s right to light up in jail.

The move, which will make all cells and units smoke-free, finally brings the prison system into line with other workplaces but health groups argue the changes do not go far enough.

Australian Council on Smoking and Health president Mike Daube welcomed the partial ban but warned that prisoners were not getting the same protection as the rest of the community.

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Smoking to be banned while under-18s are in the car 

SMOKING in cars carrying children under 18 will be banned.

Police will be able to fine motorists caught smoking while driving with children under legislation introduced in State Parliament on Thursday.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the air quality in a car filled with cigarette smoke was similar to that found in a "smoky pub", even with the windows wound down.

"There is no risk-free level of second-hand smoke in confined areas such as cars," he said.

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New tobacco laws introduced in Victoria 

Tough new anti-smoking laws aimed at protecting children have been introduced in the Victorian parliament.

The Tobacco Amendment (Protection of Children) bill bans smoking in cars with passengers under the age of 18 and further restricts the sale and display of cigarettes.

Most of the bans come into effect on January 1, 2010, with a further restriction of point-of-sale cigarette displays to commence in 2011.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said on Thursday that the government was taking action to "reduce the impact of tobacco-related harm" to the community.

He said the air quality in a car filled with second-hand smoke was similar to that found in a "smoky pub"

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Smoking to be banned while under-18s are in the car 

SMOKING in cars carrying children under 18 will be banned.

Police will be able to fine motorists caught smoking while driving with children under legislation introduced in State Parliament on Thursday.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the air quality in a car filled with cigarette smoke was similar to that found in a "smoky pub", even with the windows wound down.

"There is no risk-free level of second-hand smoke in confined areas such as cars," he said.

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Smokos cripple workers' output 

SMOKERS spend an average 17 days a year smoking, leading to a crippling drop in workplace productivity, a survey has found.

The Galaxy Research report revealed South Australia has the highest smoking rate in Australia - at 25 per cent of the population - and smokers puff on an average 14 cigarettes a day, cutting noticeably into their working day.

Smoking cessation expert and behavioural psychiatrist Dr Allan White said smoking decreased productivity and could adversely affect staff morale.

"It's not fair on the other workers - they frown on it," he said yesterday.

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Expert fumes over NT smoking policy  

The Territory Government's policies on smoking have come under fire from the president of the Australian Council on Smoking and Health.

Professor Mike Daube is also a member of the Preventative Health Task Force set up by the Federal Government, which will hand a report to the Commonwealth next week on preventing chronic illness caused by smoking, obesity and alcohol.

It is still legal to smoke in bars in the Territory, although a ban will come into place next year. . . .

"The reality is that the Territory Government's attitudes to tobacco over the years have been a disgrace.

"They lag so far behind the other states and territories that they should be asking themselves why they're allowing so many needless deaths."

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Just two clubs prosecuted over defying smoking ban 

JUST two clubs have been prosecuted for breaching the State Government's smoking bans, despite hundreds of breaches.

The small strike rate is in marked contrast to the police crackdown on infringements of the state's recently-toughened laws governing the service of alcohol in pubs and clubs.

NSW Health has said it prefers to warn venues that they have breached the bans rather than prosecute.

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Aussies spend $7.4b on smoking 

AUSSIE smokers burn a collective $7.4 billion hole in their pockets every year to sustain their habit.

The nation's average smoker lights up 14 cigarettes a day, research shows, and this cost over the year totals more than $2,500.

The poll by Galaxy Research also shows smokers lose a significant amount of productive time - as nipping out for ciggie adds up to 17 days over the year.

"Time expenditure is a great example of how smoking affects the quality of life of more than just the smoker," says Newcastle-based psychiatrist and addiction expert Dr Allan White.

"Seventeen days or 408 hours per person smoking every year is time that could be spent with family and friends - something that can be hard to come by given many peoples' fast paced lifestyles."

The poll of 1,100 randomly selected people was conducted in late February, when it found nearly one in five (18 per cent) Australians rated themselves as smokers.

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Smoking to be banned in cars with kids  

Places where smoking is prohibited in NSW will soon include cars, if any of their passengers are under the age of 16.

Billboards and print advertisements will start appearing this weekend to remind drivers and smokers of new government regulations aimed at protecting children from tobacco smoke.

The new laws come into effect on July 1.

"The advertisements will hammer home the message that from July 1, drivers and smokers will be banned from smoking in cars when a child or passenger under the age of 16 is present," Minister assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) Jodi McKay said in a statement on Saturday.

"Any driver or passenger who is caught violating this new law could attract a $250 on-the-spot fine from NSW Police."

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Desparate Banksia Patients Defy Smoking Ban 

BANKSIA patients, desperate to evade a Hunter New England Health smoking ban, are smuggling cigarettes into the mental health unit using body cavities and their underwear.

Hunter New England Health has confirmed it has recently “renewed” efforts to ensure a smoke- free policy dating back to October, 2006, is “consistently implemented across all shifts”.

The impact of the heightened restrictions was first flagged late last month when Deirdre Christian, whose son suffers from a mental illness, told The Leader patients might be dissuaded from seeking treatment at Banksia because of the ban. . . .

The staff member said the smoking ban was an ineffective smoke screen that had actually been counterproductive.

A Tamworth mental health worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the smoking ban had resulted in aggravation for the patients.

This, in turn, led to an increased incidence of abuse, assaults and threats to nursing staff.

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Aussies watch $7.4bn go up in smoke 

AUSTRALIAN smokers burn a collective $7.4 billion hole in their pockets every year to sustain their habit.

The nation's average smoker lights up 14 cigarettes a day, research shows, and this cost over the year totals more than $2500.

The poll by Galaxy Research also shows smokers lose a significant amount of productive time - as nipping out for ciggie adds up to 17 days over the year.

"Time expenditure is a great example of how smoking affects the quality of life of more than just the smoker," said Newcastle-based psychiatrist and addiction expert Dr Allan White. . . .

The remaining third rated themselves as social or "occasional" smokers - but many were still smoking up to six cigarettes daily.

The poll also found Australia's 2.9 million smokers intended to make cost savings in other areas before cutting back on cigarettes during the economic slowdown.

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Survey shows 25 per cent in SA smoke 

SOUTH Australia has the highest percentage of smokers in Australia.

Research commissioned by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reveals about 25 per cent of the state's population consider themselves regular or social smokers.

Queensland had the lowest rate of smokers at 14 per cent, with WA, Victoria and Tasmania tied on 17 per cent and NSW at 19 per cent.

The poll, by Galaxy Research, found the nation's average smoker lights up 14 cigarettes a day, (13.2 in SA) and this cost over the year totals more than $2500.

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