Tobacco.org

Smoke ban PM lights up on plane 

As the head of a government that took the brave step of banning smoking in public places five months ago, José Sócrates could have been expected to lead by example. Of course, Portugal's prime minister was well known for being partial to a cigarette. But he and his ministers recognised the force of arguments on secondhand smoke and cutting back tobacco consumption.

So it was something of a surprise yesterday when Sócrates was forced to apologise after being caught enjoying a sneaky fag in a very public place: an aircraft. He apparently believed that the curtain that separated the first-class section of the chartered TAP flight from Lisbon to Caracas on Monday would provide cover.

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Portuguese PM under fire for smoking during a flight  

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates Thursday offered an apology for lighting up in a plane while travelling to Venezuela for an official visit and said he would try and kick smoking.

"I had been smoking with the economy minister" during the flight, Socrates was quoted as saying by the Portuguese press Thursday.

"I had thought that we could smoke as we had done during earlier journeys," he said, following uproar in Portugal, where the opposition demanded he pay a fine for breaking the law.

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• Alcohol and tobacco smugglers on trial 

36 suspects heard at Vila Franca de XiraAn alleged ring of smugglers of drink and tobacco is being tried today. The case dates back to 2002 and concerns a group of three entrepreneurs allegedly linked to the illegal transport of these goods across international borders. The case is so complex it is being tried by a panel of judges rather than an individual judge.

Members of a smuggling ring with international connections which trafficked licquor and cigarettes is being tried today at Vila Franca de Xira, accused of criminal association.

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Enforcer Antonio Nunes caught with smoking cigar  

Portuguese smokers have been confined to the pavements since January 1, when new legislation banned smoking in many pubs and public places; so they were outraged to see a photograph of the man who had sponsored the legislation lighting up a cigar in a casino in the early hours of New Year's Day.

António Nunes, the head of the Portuguese Food Standards Agency, who is charged with enforcing the new regulations, said that he had not realised they also applied to casinos.

"We must investigate to see if it is within the new law," he said, in an attempt to explain his actions.

Campaigners said that Mr Nunes had set a deeply unfortunate example, making a mockery of the law within hours of its introduction.

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Anti-smoking head's awkward cigar 

When Antonio Nunes had a smoke at a New Year party in Portugal, he appears to have been unaware he was defying a new ban his agency has to enforce.

The President of the Portuguese Food Standards Agency was pictured having a cigar at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon, after the law came into effect.

Mr Nunes said he was unaware that the ban on smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants also applied to casinos.

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• Portugal inaugura una ley del tabaco parcial [Portugal inaugurates partial tobacco law] 

exceptions mark the law of the tobacco recently released in Portugal. From the one of January it is not possible to be smoked in the premises of less than 100 square meters but in those of greater size, where zones will be able to be had smokers. This norm, similar to the Spanish, is added to those of Germany and France that also have taken effect in 2008.

Almost at the same time of their take effect, several sectors have been mobilized in his against and some claims have already appeared that they try to alter articulated his.

Francisco Tadeu, president of the National Association of Discotecas, has sent a campaign of collection of companies so that these establishments are excluded from the referred law.

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• Portugal's anti-smoking chief breaks ban on Day 1 

The head of the Portuguese agency responsible for enforcing a new ban on smoking in public was seen lighting up at a New Year party, breaking the law on the first day it came into effect.

Antonio Nunes, president of Portugal's food standards agency, was photographed by the daily Diario de Noticias smoking a cigar at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon.

Nunes told the daily he was not aware the anti-smoking law, which applies to cafes, restaurants and bars, also included casinos.

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• Portugal tentatively joins Europe's anti-smoking wave  

Portugal's smokers were counting down the hours Monday to the country's tentative joining of Europe's anti-smoking wave, effective on January 1.

A law restricting smoking rights in public buildings, and licensed premises under 100 square metres in size (1,076 square feet), comes into force at midnight on Monday after it was passed, with considerable amendments, by the Portuguese parliament in June.

Like in neighbouring Spain, the licensed premises can choose whether to remain smoking, or become non-smoking.

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• Confusion clouds new tobacco law 

WITH THE new smoking law coming into effect on January 1, 2008, some believe that tourism in the Algarve will suffer. Others believe that opposition will be short lived and there will be no long-term effects on tourism.

However, there still remains some confusion as to what restrictions will be in place as well as how compliance will be monitored.

The smoking law, approved on June 28, is not an outright ban in all enclosed public spaces.

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Portuguese support tobacco restrictions 

OUT of 10 Portuguese support the idea of further restrictions on smoking in public places according to a new study. This includes restrictions on smoking in enclosed spaces such as restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

According to the study carried out by the European Union’s Eurobarometer, Portugal’s attitude against smoking was higher than the EU average.

The study revealed that 92 per cent of Portuguese supported a smoking ban in offices and other enclosed work places, 91 per cent supported a ban in public places such as the metro, airports and shopping centres, while 84 per cent were against smoking in restaurants (EU average was 77 per cent). Some 74 per cent of Portuguese wanted to see smoking banned in bars (EU average was 62 per cent).

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Expensive habit 

SMOKING WAS responsible for some 434 million euros worth of hospital admittances, medication, consultations and tests last year, according to information released by Infarmed , the National Institute of Pharmacies and Medication.

Investigators from the Catholic University and the Lisbon University found that hospital admittances caused by smoking cost 126 million euros and medication, doctors appointments and so on cost in the region of 308 million euros.

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• Smoking ban altered in Portugal 

THE BAN on smoking in public, due to come into effect in Portugal on January 1, 2008, has been slightly altered, becoming more tolerant towards smokers and owners of commercial businesses.

The law that was passed on Thursday, June 28 by the government in the Assembleia da República, allows owners of establishments such as bars, restaurants and clubs with less than 100sqm, the right to choose whether they will allow smokers or not.

If they choose to allow smokers, however, they must have ventilation systems installed to eliminate the smoke.

José Manuel Esteves from the Associação de Restaurantes e Similares de Portugal, the national restaurant association, defended the law, saying that he believes most establishments will ban smoking as the costs of adapting the space with ventilation systems is too high.

Opposition

The Confederação Portuguesa de Prevenção do Tabagismo, Portugal’s confederation for the prevention of tobacco, is angered by the alteration.

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• World No-Tobacco Day in LAC: RIACT Launched 

Brazil's Health Minister, José Gomes Temporão, today announced the launch of the Ibero-American Tobacco Control Network (RIACT - Rede Ibero-Americana de Controle do Tabagismo in Portuguese, Red Ibero-Americana de Control del Tabaquismo in Spanish) to bring together the tobacco control authorities of (Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking) Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with those of Spain and Portugal to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate in the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

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• Portugal bans smoking inside public places 

Portugal's parliament approved a law on Thursday banning smoking in almost all indoor public places, joining other European countries in an attempt to cut down on tobacco-related deaths. The ban, approved more than a year after it was proposed by the Socialist government, will carry hefty fines for individuals who smoke in offices, shopping centres and most restaurants.

About a quarter of Portuguese smoke and smoking is blamed on up to 12,000 deaths per year, according to polling group Marktest.

"The ban should decrease the number of deaths caused by smoking and will also reduce second hand smoking," said Luis Negrao, a doctor at Portugal's Cardiology Association.

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Tobacco smoking and acute myocardial infarction in young adults: A population-based case-control study 

We conducted a population-based case-control study with 329 incident acute myocardial infarction cases (42 women; 287 men), consecutively admitted to the Cardiology department of hospitals in Porto, Portugal, and 778 controls . . .

No interaction was found between current smoking and sex on myocardial infarction risk (p = 0.401). A dose–effect response was present, the odds favoring myocardial infarction reaching an eight-fold increase for those that smoked > 25 cigarettes/day compared to never smokers. The risk estimate for former smokers was similar to never smokers. Conclusions

Tobacco smoking is an important independent risk factor for acute myocardial infarction in young adults, with similar strength of association for both sexes.

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