Tobacco.org

Eurolink: Parliament’s eight year struggle to kick the habit 

In response to the case made against it the Parliament - which banned smoking in its buildings eight years ago - said all the necessary technical and administrative measures to apply the ban had been put in place.

"Some people unfortunately do not feel bound by the rules and break them, regardless of the efforts made by the administration," a spokesperson for the Parliament said.

"It is up to each individual to act responsibly and make it possible for smokers and non-smokers to live together." It added that it was not applying rules that were radically different from those laid down by the Commission.”

The Ombudsman told the elected assembly that as a result of the dangers posed to workers by exposure to smoke it should pay more attention to its own rules against smoking

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EU watchdog labels smoking ban as 'weak' 

The European Ombudsman has ruled that a light enforcement of smoking bans in European Parliament administrative buildings in Luxembourg is not only too weak, but also inefficient.

Following complaints made in 1996 from a parliament official, the European Union watchdog said the parliament's defence - that it was up to each individual to act responsibly - was not an adequate response to non-compliance.

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Son Accuses Father of Warehouse Killing 

A son accused has his father of murder during a tobacco warehouse raid to snatch cigarettes and cash.

Edward Birkinshaw, 29, told a Luxembourg court yesterday that he believed his 50-year old father Keith killed the warehouse manager with a single shot to the head.

Last week Keith Birkinshaw stood in the same witness box and said his son had shot and seriously wounded the warehouse owner three times in the raid.

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'Cold-Blooded' Father Watched Son Shoot Tobacco Dealer - Judge 

A British father was accused today of watching cold-bloodedly while his son pumped bullets into a tobacco warehouse owner during a raid which turned to murder.

Keith Birkinshaw, 50, was challenged by the judge during his second day in the witness box in the trial in Luxembourg.

Birkinshaw has claimed that his 29-year old son Edward plotted the raid and fired the shots which almost killed Francis Lemal

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Father 'Blames Son for Deadly Warehouse Raid' 

A father blamed his son for plotting a raid on a tobacco warehouse which ended in murder, a Luxembourg court heard today.

The plot was hatched as Keith Birkinshaw, 50, and 29-year old son Edward, drove to Luxembourg with Glenn Dawson, 26, on one of their regular visits to buy thousands of cut-price cigarettes to smuggle back into the UK, the court was told.

Instead of buying the goods as usual, Edward Birkinshaw wanted to steal cigarettes and money, according to his father.

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Tobacco Trial Witness Gives Evidence in Private 

A witness in the murder trial of three British men gave evidence in private today after claiming his life was in danger.

The unnamed man was given consent by a Luxembourg judge to address the court in closed session, in the presence only of lawyers and police officers.

In the dock on the third day of their trial were father and son Keith and Edward Birkinshaw and Glenn Dawson. . . .

The manager of a tobacco warehouse La Tabatheque, in the Luxembourg city of Esch, died from a single shot in the head and warehouse owner Francis Lemal was badly wounded by three shots in the body during a raid in November 2000.

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'Smuggling Tours Ended in Warehouse Murder' Court Told 

A man accused of attempted murder and robbery at a tobacco warehouse in Luxembourg organised smuggling tours to the Grand Duchy to bring cheap cigarettes back to the UK, a court was told today.

Keith Birkinshaw, 50, used a series of couriers to bring back the hauls, judges in Luxembourg heard.

But a visit in November 2000 to wholesale cigarette warehouse La Tabathaque with his son Edward and a friend, Glenn Dawson, ended in murder, it was claimed.

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Britons Accused of Killing Luxembourg Shop Worker 

Three York men were identified as killers by a Luxembourg store owner who survived only because a gun at his head failed to go off, a court was told today.

Judges in Luxembourg heard that the owner was shot three times during a raid on his tobacco warehouse in which one of his staff died from a single shot to the head. . . .

The attack happened on November 6 at La Tabatheque, a wholesale cigarette warehouse in Esch, Luxembourgs second largest city.

The murder victim, a 25-year old Frenchman, was shot in the head during an attempted raid said to involve about half a million pounds in cash and cigarettes.

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• It's a long drag to Luxembourg but British smokers say it's worth it 

Thousands of Britons are driving to Luxembourg for cheap cigarettes after price rises in France and Belgium.

The dash to the Duchy means another six hours on a motorway after crossing the Channel, but the savings are considered sufficiently worthwhile to justify a night's fitful sleep on a coach.

Top Balcony, one of the companies ferrying smokers to Luxembourg, now has a waiting list of customers who, if they buy their full allowance of 3,200 cigarettes and three kilos of rolling tobacco, can save more than £100 on Belgian prices.

With a sleeve of 200 cigarettes costing just over £20, Luxembourg is £5 cheaper than Adenkirke, a Belgian village almost wholly dedicated to the sale of tobacco to British day-trippers

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