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Northern Ireland | Cigarettes seized in docks swoop 

More than eight million cigarettes worth about �2.4m have been seized at Belfast docks.

They were found in a container under a load of tyres brought in from China on Monday. The shipment was en route to County Down when it was intercepted.

No arrests were made. An investigation is under way to determine if the cigarettes are counterfeit.

John Whiting, of HM Revenue & Customs, believes it was the work of organised criminals.

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"Bleak outlook" for NI pubs 

Northern Ireland's pubs and bars are facing a "bleak outlook" a year on from the smoking ban, a trade chief has warned.

Stephen Kelly, chief executive of the Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade Northern Ireland, said he expects the country to lose seven per cent of its pubs over the next two years.

Figures released earlier this year revealed that like-for-like sales in the on-trade have dropped seven per cent since the ban a year ago today. Ninety-three pubs and bars closed between 2005 and last December, the Mintel figures also showed.

Kelly said: "As a piece of health public policy the ban has been a success. But the much promised march of non-smokers has not materialised."

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• Northern Ireland | Smoking ban 'has closed 100 pubs' 

More than 100 bars in Northern Ireland have closed since the introduction of the smoking ban, it has been claimed.

The Federation of Retail Licensed Trade said that 7% of Northern Ireland's pubs and bars had gone out of business since the ban's introduction a year ago.

Its chief execuitve Stephen Kelly said: "The much promoted view that non-smokers would be rushing to premises has not materialised.

"We expect another 100 to close next year."

The Federation of Retail Licensed Trade represents about 1,100 pubs, hotels and restaurants.

Mr Kelly also acknowledged some landlords had fared well since the ban's introduction.

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Northern Ireland | Single smoking ban fine for city 

Only one person has been fined by Derry City Council for smoking illegally since the introduction of the smoking ban exactly a year ago.

According to department of health figures, more than 130 people were fined for smoking illegally in Northern Ireland over the last year.

The majority of penalties was given to drivers of work vehicles.

Thousands of premises were also inspected, resulting in almost 1,500 warnings.

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Northern Ireland | Drivers face brunt of smoke fines 

More than 130 people have been fined for smoking illegally since the ban was introduced in NI exactly one year ago, the department of health has said.

The majority of penalties was given to drivers of work vehicles.

Thousands of premises were also inspected up until the end of March. These resulted in almost 1,500 warnings.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said the ban represented a "major milestone for public health".

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Northern Ireland | Lorry raid nets 6.5m cigarettes 

People are being warned of the dangers of counterfeit cigarettes

A major operation to smuggle 6.5m cigarettes has been uncovered at Belfast docks.

Four different brands of cigarettes were found in a container on the back of a lorry arriving at the docks on Tuesday night.

Customs officials opened the container doors and saw rows of roof space insulation, but behind those were the contraband cigarettes.

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Cigarette butts foul up the streets 

Fermanagh District Council were one of six Councils across Northern Ireland who contributed to a recent survey looking at the cleanliness of streets across the province.

The results show a rising tide of sweet wrappers and cigarette butts being discarded on the streets.

The findings show that 92% of streets in the six Councils surveyed met government cleanliness guidelines during 2007. While this is an improvement on the 13% failure rate of the previous year, both cigarette litter and confectionery related litter has been on the increase during the same period.

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Smokers 'worst litter offenders' 

The cleanliness of NI's streets has improved for the third year in a row, according to an anti-litter charity.

A survey by Tidy Northern Ireland found 92% of streets met government cleanliness guidelines last year, an improvement on 2006's 13% failure rate.

Discarded cigarette butts were the most common form of litter, followed by sweet papers and chewing gum.

A spokesman said the rise in cigarette litter was no surprise following the smoking ban, which came in last April.

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Fag End Of Our Tidy Days Slammed 

Fag ends and sweetie papers are the bane of officials attempting to keep the Province tidy.

While the number of 'litter-louts' in Ulster has dropped for the third year in a row, smokers and sweet-eaters are still a problem, new figures reveal.

Anti-trash charity TIDY Northern Ireland claimed in a survey that the number of streets meeting Government cleanliness targets has increased.

But there is still a long way to go - with cigarette butts and paper, confectionery wrappers and chewing gum the most commonly found rubbish.

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• Ulster drivers face ban on smoking at the wheel 

Northern Ireland's environment minister Arlene Foster confirmed yesterday that a ban on smoking while at the wheel is one of a series of measures aimed at cutting the relatively high death toll on the province's roads. According to police figures, 126 people died on the roads in Northern Ireland in 2006. Last year the Police Service of Northern Ireland said that figure had fallen to 112. . . .

Foster is understood to have been won round to banning smoking in cars and lorries after a court case connected to a fatal road crash in Northern Ireland in which two children died. In April 2006 Wayne Johnston was jailed for five years on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one of causing grievous bodily injury.

He hit a group of children in west Belfast after he lit a cigarette which caused him to suffer a coughing fit. He killed eight year old Emma Lynch and Christopher Shaw, 11.

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Hard habit to break  

As smokers make renewed efforts to break their addiction on No Smoking Day today, Judith Cole talks to two Ulster puffers about stubbing it out

'It's awful to admit to 20-a-day'

Kirstie McMurray (34), co-presenter of the Cool FM Breakfast Show with Pete Snodden, lives in Bangor with children Connor (9) and Katie (7), and smokes 20 a day. She says:

I was 19 when I started smoking, which is quite unusual as most people begin when they're at school. I was just trying to fit in with the crowd I was hanging around with. That was 16 years ago ... and it's time to give up now, although I've been saying that for the past five years.

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Take The Great No Smoking Day Challenge 

NO Smoking Day is 12th March and Moyle District Council is encouraging employers to help their staff who smoke to take The Great No Smoking Day Challenge and quit smoking for good. In Northern Ireland 2,700 - 3,000 people die every year as a result of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke. Smoking accounts for 34 million lost work days in the UK. Cigarette breaks and increased absenteeism through illness mean smokers’ productivity can be reduced. Morale amongst the whole workforce can be affected as non-smokers feel they do more hours for the same pay as those taking cigarette breaks.

Give your employees help and support to quit smoking for No Smoking Day by carrying out an event on the Day

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NI 'peace pipes' sold at auction 

A work of art consisting of pipes smoked by three key players in the Northern Ireland peace process has been auctioned for �6,500.

The Pipes of Peace exhibit consists of pipes belonging to Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams, ex-PUP leader David Ervine and former UVF leader Gusty Spence.

The money will go to a cross-community fund set up in memory of Mr Ervine, who died last January.

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Northern Ireland | Call to end child passive smoking 

The Ulster Cancer Foundation has joined a global campaign to focus on the dangers to children when parents smoke.

"I love my smoke-free childhood," is an initiative promoted across the world by the International Union against Cancer.

The campaign is being launched on Monday, World Cancer Day, and will be a year-long effort.

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Cigarette smugglers thwarted 

Customs officials have thwarted a major cigarette smuggling operation for the second time in as many days.

A Northern Ireland gang was behind the latest attempt to illegally bring tens of thousands of euro worth of tobacco into the country for the black market. Almost 168,000 cigarettes and 2.2 kilos of loose tobacco was intercepted by officers tracking the contraband on a flight from Tenerife into Dublin on Saturday night.

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