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Sunderland Royal Hospital is "reluctantly" reinstating shelters for smokers in its grounds.
Health bosses admit they are unable to stop people disobeying the no-smoking rule and lighting up just outside the hospital's main doors.
This had led to complaints by patients and staff about second-hand smoke drifting into the building.
Purpose-built shelters, which were dismantled two years ago, are to be set up again.
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Six years after the ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship in the UK, a London-based sports body stands accused of breaching the law by promoting a cigarette brand on its website.[1] The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which represents the world's top male tennis players, is responsible for the sponsorship contracts for the various international tournaments. The next ATP World Tour tournament, which is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland from 31 October to 8 November, is sponsored by Davidoff, a cigarette brand manufactured by Imperial Tobacco. The Swiss indoor tournament is believed to be the only one in the world to be sponsored by a tobacco company.
British-based Imperial Tobacco acquired the Davidoff cigarette brand in 2006 and has exploited the weak law in Switzerland which still allows events to be sponsored by tobacco companies, although tobacco advertising on television is banned. However, the televising of the event means that tobacco advertising will be beamed into the homes of more than one billion people worldwide, [2] contrary to Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which has been signed by 160 countries worldwide. [3]
ASH has written to the ATP urging the organisation to end its ties with the tobacco industry when the current contract comes to an end and is seeking clarification from the Department of Health regarding the possible breach of UK law.
Despite the global economic downturn, the leading 100 U.K. restaurant chains grew sales by 3.4 percent in 2008 to nearly £11 billion, and posted strong unit gains, expanding by 7.6 percent to approximately 15,000 locations.
The limited-service segment, accounting for 60 percent of sales for the leading 100 chains, led the group, up 4.7 percent to more than £6.5 billion, while the full-service segment, representing 40 percent of sales, grew by 1.6 percent to over £4 billion. . . .
The implementation of the indoor smoking ban in pubs generated new food customers who had previously avoided smoke. Mitchells & Butlers plc attributed its robust food sales to these new patrons.
Smokers who swapped to low-tar cigarettes were less likely to successfully quit the habit
Smokers who hope to kick the habit by first switching to a low-tar or mild brand of cigarette may actually find it harder to quit, researchers said today.
They found that smokers who traded to light cigarettes were 50 per cent less likely to kick the habit.
'It may be that smokers think that a lighter brand is better for their health and is therefore an acceptable alternative to giving up completely,' said study author Dr Hilary Tindle from the University of Pittsburgh.
Her study of 31,000 smokers found that 12,000, or 38 per cent, had switched to a lighter brand.
Nearly half of these said they had switched brands because they wanted to smoke a less harmful cigarette and hoped to give up smoking completely.
A woman is recovering in hospital after being rescued by Kent firefighters from a blaze caused by a cigarette.
Neighbours alerted emergency services after spotting smoke coming from the terraced home of Edwina Nixon, 45, in Station Road, Whitstable. . . .
A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the fire started when Ms Nixon fell asleep while smoking, setting fire to the sofa.
"This sends out a really important warning to others about the dangers of smoking and not disposing of cigarettes carefully," said Whitstable watch manager David Nolan.
"If it hadn't been for the neighbour, we could easily have been dealing with a fatality."
What does this mean for me?
We don't know why people who switched cigarette types were less likely to succeed in quitting. The researchers suggest some possibilities:
* People who switched may have been more addicted to nicotine, so tried to cut down by switching first rather than simply trying to quit
* They may have used up their initial motivation by switching brands, and run out of enthusiasm to quit altogether
* They may have felt that quitting was less important, because they wrongly thought they were doing less damage to their health with the low-tar brand.
Overall, the study suggests that swapping types of cigarette doesn't help you give up smoking. The message seems to be that it's better to concentrate your energies on giving up, rather than worrying about the type of cigarette you smoke.
What should I do now?
If you want to give up smoking, contact your GP surgery. They can help you to quit. Alternatively, call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 022 4332 to find out about stop smoking services in your area.
by The Economist as a "solidly researched, interesting and only occasionally strident book" He also runs one of the world’s best blogs which discusses issues of health and liberty, with a particular focus on smoking, alcohol and food. As part of his on-going campaign to highlight these important areas electronic cigarettes caught his eye.
Chris reported on ASH UK all but backing electronic cigarettes and has now had the chance to interview the owner of the UK’s largest online retailer of electronic cigarettes (http://www.cheapelectroniccigarettes.co.uk) to find out about the current state of the electronic cigarette industry and what to expect in the future.
"We felt that it was important that we worked with Chris as he is, without question, a great talent and bestselling author which makes him a very good route to getting some mainstream media about electronic cigarettes. I read his work and he always researches information in great detail and consistently provides an unbiased and sensible viewpoint which is important for our industry."
Coronation Street's head honcho has defended the soap for having characters who smoke.
Executive producer Kieran Roberts told Radio Times: "While we have a duty not to glamorise the habit, it would be realistic to see nobody smoking - but only a few regulars do."
He added that the smoking ban in 2007 means characters such as Deidre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) tend to smoke outdoors now, for example in the back yard of the Rovers.
He went on: "Just as in real life, that makes the habit more visible, but it's not actually more prevalent."
To get a glimpse of things to come we need look no further than a few miles across the water to Ireland, where a number of new reports have surfaced. Curiously they've all failed to appear in the ASH Daily News.
The worst of these is pub closures which, over the last five years, have reached a depressing 1,500 outside Dublin. . . .'' On the contrary Irish smoking rates have RISEN yet again! New figures from the EU show they are now at 33% - the highest for 11 years. That's up 6% since the inception of their smoking ban.
However as I've argued before bans increase smoking numbers, forbidden fruits and all that. So had the pre-ban trend been allowed to continue Irish smoking rates would today be below 22%.
Meanwhile Ireland has witnessed an epidemic of grand-scale cigarette smuggling so there's not even any revenue gains. The EU survey also revealed that today the largest group of smokers - 45% - is aged between 16 and 30, significantly the main target group of the original de-normalisation program. . . .
Yet still the health fascists trumpet Ireland's smoking ban as some kind of 'success', being held up as a model all over the world. Ireland's ASH-equivalent, the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, insist that bar workers health has 'improved' and are calling for even heavier taxes and legislation.
So there you have it. The only reason your livelihood is under threat is to feed the spiteful, insatiable arrogance of these nannying do-gooders. You've already had your behaviour 'corrected' by the hate-mob and lost vital trade as a result.
Since arriving in the states I've noticed several cultural differences with regard to smoking. First and foremost, American cigarette packs do not have the angry black and white warning signs that plague cigarette packs in Europe. American smokers seem to be fully aware of the dangers of smoking and do not need telling that "Smokers die younger," . . .
Other small differences include the lack of ten packs of cigarettes in America and the lack of the lovely slang term Brits use for their cigarettes, "fags," which I am fully aware has a whole other meaning this side of the pond.
Finally, smoking in Britain is almost totally unacceptable among young people. It's not uncommon for it to be the key reason not to date someone and very often you'll find that groups of friends are split into smokers and non-smokers. A lot of this is a direct effect of the smoking ban. Smokers are banished outside while their non smoking friends can stay inside by the bar (assuming that's where they are, which in Swansea - my hometown - is a safe bet). Smokers are regularly taunted for their filthy habit by smug individuals with healthy lungs, especially if it's raining. Of course in Britain it will probably be cold, too, and so smokers are subjected to being taunted by dry, warm, healthy smug individuals while they shiver outside in the cold, struggling to light their cigarette in the wind.
Donegal newsagent and NFRN member Maurice Timony will tomorrow morning lodge a High Court challenge to contest the Irish Governments ban on tobacco display. He is backed by the world's largest cigarette company Philip Morris in the joint lawsuit which seeks to overturn the ban on the display of tobacco products at retail stores in Ireland.
While the NFRN supports the Governments intentions on public health, a display ban is simply bad policy. Firstly, it is ineffective in stopping children smoking and helping adults quit. Secondly, without a coherent approach it will lead to further significant growth in illegal smuggled and counterfeit tobacco products - as already experienced in Ireland - to the detriment of both public health and retailers' livelihoods. Similarly, the NFRN`s newsagent members in the UK are not being listened to - NFRN members do not wish to resort to legal action but we may have no other options left open to us.
A ROYAL British Legion club has been forced to move a war memorial — to make way for a smoking shelter.
The four feet-high monument has been at the club in Astley Bridge for more than eight years.
It has now been dismantled and is awaiting a new home.
The memorial features around 40 names, but with no clue to their regiments. The history of the monument is unknown.
A club committee member, who did not want to be named, said: “If there had not been a smoking ban, the memorial would be where it has been for at least eight years. “Bolton Council put pressure on us to have the shelter because they said people were smoking in the doorways.
TRADING Standards has vowed to stamp down on counterfeit cigarettes and underage sales following the conviction of a man who sold fake cigarettes to kids from his ice cream van.
Anthony Thomas Wharton pleaded guilty at Furness Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to selling counterfeit cigarettes and unauthorised use of a trademark following a Trading Standards investigation.
The court was told that Wharton, 61, had targeted children from his ice cream van, selling counterfeit Regal cigarettes at �3.50 a packet.
Wharton, of Marsden Street, Barrow, was given a 12-month community order, requiring him to do 60-hours of unpaid work and pay �350 costs to Cumbria County Council.
Since the introduction of the smoking ban, Pubs, Clubs and Hotels across the hospitality industry have felt the pinch of trade dropping due to smokers being forced outside. UK smokers have been forced into a supermarket culture; Preferring to buy ingredients in and have social gatherings at houses where they can smoke freely. It is strongly believed though that mass acceptance of electronic cigarettes into the hospitality industry will see 65% of lost trade returning instantly and the rest returning within 2 years.
Harvard doctors recently backed electronic cigarettes from cheapelectroniccigarettes.co.uk and ASH UK (Anti Smoking and Health Organisation – Ash.org.uk) have also released that they approve of the benefits that electronic cigarettes can potentially bring.
Electronic Cigarettes are revolutionary devices which do not breach smoking bans