http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/uk.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2740213/Amy-Winehouse-is-puffing-on-a-fag-after-workout.html http://tobacco.org/news/293113.html KIDS, this is how NOT to get fit. AMY WINEHOUSE went for a session in the gym and then sparked up a fag as she danced out the door. At least she has packed in the cigars and the Class A drugs. But her fitness regime isn't one I'd recommend for a healthy set of heart and lungs. In a bid to get fitter and gain a curvier physique, Amy has enrolled at a Virgin Active in London. The Sun UK Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Health-trust-relaxes-smoking-rules.5843420.jp http://tobacco.org/news/293074.html HOSPITAL chiefs in Sheffield have defended a decision to provide smoking shelters around their sites, saying a blanket ban had proved too difficult for staff to enforce. Contractors have been putting up the shelters in several locations on sites run by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Signs are currently displayed which say smoking is banned and inform people they are breaking the law unless they leave hospital grounds before lighting up. But yesterday deputy chief nurse Richard Parker said the rules would be relaxed to encourage people to smoke in the shelters and move them away from other locations. Yorkshire Post UK Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6614351/Winston-Churchill-D-Day-cigar-discovered.html http://tobacco.org/news/293069.html The cigar has now been valued at £800 by an expert during the filming of the Antiques Roadshow. Student Christian Williams, 33, was given the cigar when he was just 12 by his grandad Ronald Williams, a WWII veteran. At over six inches long the cigar has never been touched by its owner, who keeps it safe in a sturdy wooden box. It was taken from a historic meeting between Churchill and the other Allied leaders at the famous Casablanca Conference. Placecards bearing the names of the world leaders taken with the cigar from the conference combined with Mr William senior's testimony helped the authentication of the cigar. Electronic Telegraph UK Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122680327/abstract?CRETRY=1 http://tobacco.org/news/293061.html Aim To explore predictors of smoking relapse and how predictors vary according to duration of abstinence. . . . Findings Relapse was associated with lower abstinence self-efficacy and a higher frequency of urges to smoke, but only after the first month or so of quitting. Both these measures mediated relationships between perceived benefits of smoking and relapse. Perceived costs of smoking and benefits of quitting were unrelated to relapse. Conclusions Challenging perceived benefits of smoking may be an effective way to increase abstinence self-efficacy and reduce frequency of urges to smoke (particularly after the initial weeks of quitting), in order to reduce subsequent relapse risk. Wiley InterScience UK Canada Australia USA Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122680331/abstract?CRETRY=1 http://tobacco.org/news/293060.html Aims To describe the long-term natural history of a range of potential determinants of relapse from quitting smoking. Design, setting and participants A survey of 2502 ex-smokers of varying lengths of time quit recruited as part of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States) across five annual waves of surveying. . . . Findings Most theorized determinants of relapse changed over time in a manner theoretically associated with reduced risk of relapse, except most notably the belief that smoking controls weight, which strengthened. Change in these determinants changed at different rates: from a rapidly asymptoting log function to a less rapidly asymptoting square-root function. Conclusions Variation in patterns of change across time suggests that the relative importance of each factor to maintaining abstinence may similarly vary. Wiley InterScience UK Canada Australia USA Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/press-releases/business-and-industry/raid-control-expands-to-protect-cigarette-gantries-$1341276$365890.htm http://tobacco.org/news/292996.html Raid-control – the national crime prevention initiative - has expanded its robbery deterrent package to include the protection of tobacco products within cigarette gantries in response to a new crime trend that retailers are experiencing. Criminals are targeting the cigarette gantries within several convenience store chains and demand that the person behind the counter hands over the cigarettes. In some cases the raiders jump the counters and sweep the cigarettes into bin bags before escaping with their haul. Politics.co.uk info@raid-control.org UK Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cigarette_adverts_ban_in_shops_will_help_save_lives__says_cumbrian_health_boss_1_637449?referrerPath=/1.50001 http://tobacco.org/news/292931.html Cumbria's public health chief believes a new law could prove a life-saver in the county. Dr John Ashton has welcomed legislation aimed at protecting children and young people from the harmful effects of tobacco. Tough new rules will stop cigarettes being advertised openly in shops - a move supporters hope will reduce the number of children taking up the habit. Three people a week, on average, die every day from a smoking-related illness in Cumbria. And Dr Ashton, NHS Cumbria's director of public health, believes new rules will break the "depressing cycle" tobacco brings. Peers in the House of Lords last week backed laws to remove cigarettes and tobacco from display at points of sale and to get rid of cigarette vending machines. News & Star UK Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health-news/2009/11/16/smokers-should-have-their-lungs-tested-every-three-years-91466-25174251/ http://tobacco.org/news/292914.html ALL smokers and people with a family history of lung disease should have access to a lung function test every three years, says a charity. The British Lung Foundation believes the provision of such tests in Wales would mean more people are diagnosed with lung diseases earlier. This would help improve their quality of life and reduce the long-term burden on NHS services. But stigma and a lack of understanding about symptoms means that an estimated three-quarters of people with lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in Wales have not been diagnosed. The call for routine testing comes ahead of World COPD day on Wednesday. Dr Emrys Evans, a respiratory consultant at Morriston Hospital, in Swansea, said: "A lot of patients seem to accept symptoms, assume there is no underlying condition and that they will go away. WalesOnline UK UK-Wales Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1228482/Smokers-soon-jab-halt-addiction.html http://tobacco.org/news/292869.html Smokers could soon break their habit with a jab that stops nicotine from being addictive by preventing it from entering the brain, scientists claimed. As a result the vaccine stops the smoker from deriving any pleasure from inhaling a cigarette. In human trials the vaccine proved successful in 50 per cent of cases. Help: Smokers could quit using the vaccine that stops nicotine entering the brain This would help relieve the NHS of the heavy burden of tobacco-related diseases. . . . The product, called NicVAX is likely to open a new front in the tobacco wars. They are many products currently on the market to help people quit smoking such as nicotine patches, and gum. But many of the existing smoking cessation products are failing to prevent many people from returning to their tobacco habits. NicVAX is the first product that prevents smokers from returning to their habit with others just stopping their immediate tobacco use. The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday UK Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171080.php http://tobacco.org/news/292863.html The British Psychological Society welcomes the passage of measures protecting young people from harm caused by tobacco into law in the Health Act 2009. The President of the Society, Sue Gardner, says: "We regard the protection of children and young people from smoking as an extremely high priority. All the available evidence suggests that the earlier young people start to smoke the more difficult they will find it to quit." Medical News TODAY UK Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=291022&Itemid=30 http://tobacco.org/news/292857.html Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) In their October briefing, ASH in the United Kingdom has released a favorable position on electronic cigarettes which is nearly 180 degrees to the position ASH in the United States has taken. ASH's UK Position on E-cigarettes "ASH supports a harm reduction approach to tobacco, that is, we recognize that whilst efforts to help people stop smoking should remain a priority, many people either do not wish to stop smoking or find it very hard to do so. For this group, we believe that products should be made available that deliver nicotine in a safe way, without the harmful components found in tobacco. Most of the diseases associated with smoking are caused by inhaling smoke which contains thousands of toxic chemicals. By contrast, nicotine is relatively safe. Therefore, e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, e-cigarettes reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do not produce smoke." Kyle Newton of eCigarettesChoice.com is elated at the release. "This is the second piece of good news for the E cigarette industry this week. The first was Governor Schwarzenegger's refusal to ban E cigarettes in California. It is a David vs. Goliath battle for us against organizations that are well-funded by companies who stand to lose a huge market share to the E cigarette." On the other side of the big pond, ASH, USA has hammered the electronic cigarette industry unmercifully in its public claims against the product. But throughout this entire finger pointing, they have failed to produce any scientific research which tested the electronic cigarette and could trump the positive data "real" tobacco researchers have published. PR USA.net UK USA Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/11760-1258379941-electronic-cigarettes-proven-to-be-widely-accepted-across-uk-pubs-and-clubs.html http://tobacco.org/news/292718.html The smoking ban has forced UK smokers 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 has seen 65% of lost trade returning instantly and the rest will return 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 as it involves no ignition or burning of tobacco. Online PR News sales@cheap-electronic-cigarettes.co.uk UK Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prlog.org/10411925-nhs-trust-removes-latest-antismoking-propaganda.html http://tobacco.org/news/292698.html Strong representation was made today by Dave Atherton of Freedom2Choose and freelance journalist Pat Nurse who objected against the material on the grounds of incitement to hatred towards smokers, with the inference that smokers could be treated as nothing more than ‘punch-bags’. Accompanying them was Dudley councillor Malcolm Davis. The NHS Trust had recruited the photographer Rankin to assist with the hard-hitting anti-smoking film, which was being used as part of a multimedia campaign launched in September. Rankin had co-directed the film with Chris Cottam, which shows a smoker suffering an assault from an invisible assailant as he walks down the street. Freedom2Choose lodged a complaint against the material and upon consideration, the NHS Trust has agreed to remove it from all venues within the next two weeks. PRLog UK Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/business-news/Publicans-call-for-amendment-to.5816098.jp http://tobacco.org/news/292608.html Pub owners and landlords in Luton called for a change to the smoking ban in a bid to halt the increasing number of pubs being forced to permanently call time at the bar. Representatives from the Amend The Smoking Ban campaign demonstrated their support for a change in the current smoking laws at the monthly meeting of the Luton Licensed Victuallers Association at The Bramingham Pub, in Quantock Rise. The campaign is the first pro-smoking initiative to gather cross-party political support and has been supported by TV chef Antony Worral Thompson and artist David Hockney. Bedford Today UK Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.moodiereport.com/Martin/?p=2700 http://tobacco.org/news/292594.html Where, in an acutely sensitive regulatory environment, should the tobacco category be positioned in a duty free store? When The Nuance Group opened its splendid new 650sq m tax & duty free store at Geneva International Airport earlier this month, it opted to place the entire tobacco category at the entrance of the store – displayed in what Nuance called a “breathtaking black and white setting”. The logic is obvious. As many studies have proven, tobacco is not just a major drawcard in most duty free stores, it is also a tremendous fooftall (and therefore penetration) driver for other categories. In Geneva that’s especially the case. The airport’s cigar assortment has long been a hallmark of the retail offer (it has been considerably enhanced here) and the cigarettes category is particularly important to the Geneva passenger profile. But one wonders how that positioning sits with the approach likely to be adopted in English and Scottish duty free stores, where travel retailers have sought an exemption from proposed tobacco display restrictions that are being touted under the Health Bill. . . . As we reported recently, The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display) (England) Regulations 2010 propose wide-ranging limitations on the display and merchandising of tobacco products. The Moodie Report UK Switzerland Macau Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT