.

News

Government launches new tobacco control strategy

01 February 2010

The Government's tobacco control strategy launched on 1 February 2010 heralds the start of the next phase in tobacco control in England. The new strategy includes ambitious, yet realisable, goals to dramatically reduce smoking rates among adults and children.

The primary goals are to:

• Reduce smoking among 11-15 year olds from 6% now to under 1% by 2020

• Reduce adult smoking from 21% now to under 10% by 2020.

The strategy can be found here on the Department of Health website.

See our press release here.
See the Department of Health's press release here.

 

 

 

 

Tribute to the late David Taylor MP

29 December 2009

Responding to news of the unexpected death of Leicestershire MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, David Taylor, health campaigners were quick to pay tribute. Taylor had been a long time champion of measures to reduce the harm caused by smoking and had been a leader in the parliamentary campaign that made public places in England smokefree. More recently he helped secure the successful passage of the 2009 Health Bill which will put an end to cigarette vending machines and put tobacco products out of sight in shops. Taylor was also one of Westminster's leading advocates of plain packaging for tobacco products.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of the Health Charity ASH said: "David was a much loved and respected colleague and advocate for public health, fearless in his pursuit of the things he believed in. Our thoughts are with his family and I hope it can be some consolation for them to know that David was admired as a man of great honour and a wise and willing adviser to those who sought his help. It is all the more saddening to know that David was standing down at the next election, looking forward to a less hectic life."

.

MPs vote to put tobacco out of sight and out of reach

12th October 2009

MPs made the most significant step forward in public health since smokefree legislation when they voted to ban sales of tobacco from vending machines and the display of tobacco in shops on Monday 12th October.

See ASH's press release here
See the British Heart Foundation's press release here
See Cancer Research UK's press release here

.

.

.

.

.

.

Lambert & Butler bosses lobby Health Bill Committee

18th June 2009

Health charities and the tobacco industry have submitted evidence to the committee considering the Health Bill, week beginning 22nd June. Although the rules require that they "should generally include only material specifically prepared for the Committee", industry submissions appear to be substantially recycled from previous briefings. Read what the industry has been telling MPs. The MPs on the Committee are:

Gillian Merron Government Minister, Lincoln
Mike O'Brien Government Minister, North Warwickshire
Mary Creagh Labour, Wakefield
Angela C. Smith Labour, Sheffield, Hillsborough
Andy Slaughter Labour, Ealing and Acton
Dr Desmond Turner Labour, Brighton Kemptown
Patrick Hall Labour, Bedford
Dr Doug Naysmith Labour, Bristol NW
Jim Cunningham Labour, Coventry South
Mike Penning Conservative, Hemel Hempstead
Robert Wilson Conservative Whip, Reading East
John Horam Conservative, Orpington
Stephen O'Brien Conservative, Eddisbury
Andrew Turner Conservative, IoW
Sandra Gidley Lib Dem, Romsey
Dr John Pugh Lib Dem, Southport

.

.

Cigarette vending machines are out of order

14th May 2009

The British Heart Foundation, as part of the Smokefree Action Coalition, has been campaigning to ensure children cannot buy cigarettes from vending machines. We were pleased that, following our lobbying, earlier opposition to restrictions on access to cigarette vending machines in the current health bill have disappeared.

Despite the narrow defeat of an amendment to ban cigarette vending machines in the Lords last week, we were delighted that so many peers from across the political spectrum spoke out against them. Many have clearly been persuaded that action on cigarette vending machines is crucial to ensure they are put out of children's reach for good.

We believe that when the bill moves to the Commons in June, MPs must press the Government to commit to the strongest possible regulations on vending machines, to make it impossible for children to access cigarettes this way.

We welcome your support to ensure that when the Health Bill becomes an act of Parliament, cigarette vending machines will be put out of reach of children for good

.

Lords vote 2 to 1 to put tobacco out of sight of children

7th May 2009

Action on Smoking & Health today praised the House of Lords for putting children's health first following a vote to put tobacco out of sight in shops across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The move, which has been supported by over 100 health and welfare organisations, will close one of the remaining loopholes in the ban on tobacco advertising and will protect children from tobacco industry marketing. More

.

.

.

.

Observer ad urges support for legislation to ban tobacco displays and vending machine sales

26th April 2009

One hundred national, regional and local organisations and medical and scientific experts have signed a full-page advertisement appearing in The Observer newspaper urging members of the House of Lords to vote to end tobacco displays in shops and ban sales of tobacco from vending machines.

The Report Stage of the Health Bill starts on 28th April and the organisations are urging the Lords to vote to put tobacco out of sight in order to protect children from the eye-catching tobacco displays that are often sited next to the sweet counters in corner shops.

For more information contact Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) on 020 7739 5902.

.

.

Canadians congratulate UK on Point of Sale Ban

The Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction (SCTR) has congratulated the UK Government on its commitment to "measures that will protect children, youth and all citizens from the devastation caused by tobacco addiction".

Saskatchewa, Canada, was the second jurisdiction in the world (after Iceland) to implement a ban on tobacco point of sale displays. A spokesman said he had "not heard of any negative outcomes such as businesses closing or staff being let go".

Read the SCTR's letter on their point of sale ban success story

.

.

Top UK academics tell peers: tobacco displays lead children to smoke

23rd March 2009

Directors of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies have written to 800 members of the House of Lords telling them that the evidence indicates that children are influenced by point of sale displays of tobacco, in terms of their susceptibility to smoking, experimentation and uptake. During the Lords "Committee Stage" debate of the Health Bill several peers said they doubted there was enough evidence to justify legislation but Professors McNeil and Britton are among the leading authorities who have written to put them straight. Click here to read their letter

The letter arrives just days after Channel 4's "Factcheck" rated as very strong, the evidence linking displays to youth smoking and legal display bans to reductions in youth smoking. (See story below)

The Smokefree Action Coalition are urging the public to write to MPs and peers to make the facts clear.

Channel 4 FactCheck: tobacco ban evidence?

Channel 4's FactCheck has assessed the government's claim that banning cigarette displays in shops will stop young people smoking and rated it: 1

How ratings work
Every time a FactCheck article is published we'll give it a rating from zero to five. The lower end of the scale indicates that the claim in question largerly checks out, while the upper end of the scale suggests misrepresentation, exaggeration, a massaging of statistics and/or language.

The claim
"What other countries have found when they've banned point of sale [tobacco] displays is they reduced the number of young people taking up smoking, and that's the primary concern we have here."
Alan Johnson, health secretary, Today, Radio 4, 9 December 2008

The background
The government announced plans yesterday to ban the display of tobacco products in shops and supermarkets by 2013 - so no more colourful rows of cigarette packets lined up behind the newsagents' counter.

Since tobacco advertising was banned in 2002, these point-of-sale displays are the most prominent place in which cigarettes are visible to potential customers. More

Big tobacco hides behind shopfront: MSP condemns tobacco lobby tactics

11th January 2009, SNP News

SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson condemned the lobbying actions of tobacco manufacturers after it emerged a campaign by shopkeepers against proposals to stop the display of cigarettes in store is being bank rolled by the cigarette companies.

MSPs have been receiving letters from "Responsible Retailers" urging them to support the "Save our Shop" campaign claiming that removing cigarettes from display will lead to the closure of small independent shops. More

.

.

.

MPs fall foul of 'dirty' tricks by tobacco giants

14th December 2008, The Observer

Britain's tobacco giants have been accused of 'dirty' tactics after it emerged they created a supposedly 'independent' campaign group for small retailers to lobby against government restrictions on the promotion of cigarettes in shops.

The Save Our Shop campaign claimed proposals to remove large displays of cigarettes in stores would result in costly refits and see many small retailers go out of business... more

.

Government publishes its response to the future of tobacco control consultation

9th December 2008

Read the Government's response to the consultation

Find out more about the Smokefree Action Coalition's priorities for a comprehensive strategy

We expect a new Bill to be introduced early in the New Year to end point of sale display and give powers to end the sale of cigarettes from vending machines. A comprehensive strategy is expected to follow later in the year.

.

.

EDM 189: Point of Sale display of tobacco products

9th December 2008

EDM 189: Point of Sale display of tobacco products. Has your MP signed yet? If not ask them why

.

Secretary of State gives evidence on health inequalities

19th November 2008

Today Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson gave evidence to the Health Select Committee on health inequalities. He frequently mentioned smoking and tobacco to illustrate his points and correctly identified smoking as the major cause of health inequalities. A number of specific areas in relation to tobacco control were picked up on... more

.

SAC states case for a comprehensive tobacco control strategy

12th October 2008

The need for a comprehensive tobacco control strategy - SAC document

.

.

Coalition members publish responses to the consultation

10th September 2008

Read the Smokefree Action Coalition members' responses to the government consultation

.

What happens now the consultation is closed?

8th September 2008

The Department of Health’s Consultation on the future of tobacco control closed on Monday September 8th. What happens now? More

Government consultation on the future of tobacco control

31st May 2008

The Smokefree Action Coalition welcomes the Government’s consultation on the future of tobacco control and the commitment to a new national tobacco control strategy. More

.

.

Get Involved | Plain Packaging | Point of Sale Display | Vending Machines | Other Briefings | Contact: info@smokefreeaction.org.uk

Copyright Smokefree Action 2008/10