Jersey ban on smoking in cars carrying children is proposed

Jersey could be the first place in the British Isles to ban smoking in cars carrying children under proposals put forward by the Health Minister.

A health department survey last year suggested islanders supported extra measures to protect children from second-hand smoke.
Around 20% of people in Jersey smoke, and there is already a ban on smoking in enclosed places.
A pro-smoking group said the proposal was "heavy-handed".
If the proposals become law, people would be banned from lighting up in cars carrying passengers under the age of 18. Lucky Strike Click&Roll
Dr Susan Turnbull, Jersey's chief medical officer, said: "Bringing in a law like this will be a very important signal that it's risky to children and no children should be exposed in this way."
Simon Clark, director of pro-smoking group Forest, said: "People shouldn't do it, and by and large they don't, so why do we need a law that will make very little difference?
"It's heavy-handed and extremely patronising. The overwhelming majority of adult smokers know how to behave towards children and the law should reflect that."
The idea will be discussed in the States in the coming weeks.

Firefighters' warning for smokers

Smokers are being warned to dispose of their cigarette-ends safely.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called to a fire at a farm building in Dumfries and Galloway. It is thought the fire was caused by smoking materials left in a bin.
The Fire and Rescue service say it is the most common cause of house fires and are urging people to extinguish their cigarettes, matches and other flammable materials correctly.
People are also encouraged to check that their smoke alarms are working to ensure that they can get to safety in time.
Free home fire safety visits are available from Scotland’s firefighters to help fire prevention.

Smokers urged to go outdoors

An NHS Lanarkshire child doctor is urging Cumbernauld and Kilsyth smokers to banish cigarettes from the home and the car when there are children present.
Dr Carol Dryden, an NHS Lanarkshire consultant paediatrician with special interest in respiratory paediatrics, said: “Our experience shows that the vast majority of smokers want to give up and do their best to take their smoking away from their children – for example by opening a window or standing by an open door. Kent cigarettes one of the best brands online.
“However, I think many smokers will be surprised to learn that much of their smoke remains in the room and will welcome this information.”
She added: “The best way to safeguard the health of your child is, of course, to give up altogether.
“But we appreciate that not all smokers are ready to try that quit attempt just yet which is why we’re giving them this information to help them improve the health environment in their home and help protect their child’s health.”
New research cited in the campaign is said to show that harmful chemicals in second hand smoke linger and travel for up to five hours after the visible smoke has disappeared.
It is argued that because 85 per cent of second-hand smoke is invisible and odourless many are unaware that smoking at an open window or standing at the back door, isn’t enough to protect children.

Tobacco advertising

The first advertisement in the USA that waws very known was for the snuff and tobacco products of P. Lollard and Company and was put in the New York newspaper in 1789. Regional and local daily papers were used because of the little production and transportation of these products. The first real brand name that became well known in the USA was "Bull Durham" in 1868, with the advertising saying how easy it was "to roll your own".
The development of color lithography in the 1870s let the companies create attractive, interesting images to present better their tobacco products. This led to the printing of those images onto the cigarette cards. Advertising was important in helping by the distribution of free branded cigarettes to troops during World War I and World War II.

The tobacco companies deny the fact that advertising has a very important role in influencing people to start smoking or just continue the habit. There were made some researches which show the opposite of the affirmation. They do encourage people to smoke.

When the government will realize the fact that tobacco harms people and there needs something to be done. Partial restrictions are good too, but still more effects have the total ones.

Partial effects are sometimes limited or don’t have any effect. Comprehensive bans in different forms on tobacco might have success in stopping the tobacco usage. Cigarette packaging has a big role like advertising restrictions when implemented.

The packet design has a role in showing the brand image and competing for future customers. There are many countries or states that are advocating plain packaging. For example in the tobacco industry there are banned some word like “Light” and “Mild”, because these words makes the impression that the cigarette are less harmful or contain less harmful ingredients.

China Wants to Adopt Tougher Smoking Ban

Lawmakers in a China city decided to adopt a law which will ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants, cafes, bars and other indoor places.

In case this regulation will pass by the legislature, it will be the toughest of its kind in a country with the world’s largest number of smokers.

The majority of public health experts declare that the given legislation is central in tobacco-control struggle and it may give birth to a nationwide campaign that will assure a thorough protection for approximately 740 million people who are exposed to second-handsmoke.

According to statistics more than 300 million of Chinese adults smoke, and there are also a lot of smoking teenagers.  

“We hope to pass the bill in some of these days,” stated Xu Yongli, from the Municipal People's Congress of Nanchang.

The given draft regulation requires a complete ban in 11 categories of public places such as: schools, malls, public transport, medical institutes, offices, sports venues and Internet cafes ones it is adopted.

Also this ban will affect hotels, bars, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and beauty salons from January 1, 2013.

Those owners who will break the law will be fined up to 5,000 yuan (US$758). Individuals who will smoke in smoke-free areas will be fined 50 yuan.

A lot of people and government officials state that this bill has impossible goals for a second-tier city. “Such kind of ban is new for China. We didn’t have national-level tobacco control law, it partially prohibited smoking in public places and government offices, mostly depending on local legislation.” said Huang Jinrong, a Beijing-based lawyer, who conducted various researches on tobacco control legislation.

Health experts declare that “smoke-free” means no smoking at all in inside places, and outdoor only in specially created places.  Smoke-free areas are not efficient if speaking about protection of non-smokers, because harmful particles emitted from a burning cigarette can be spreading carried throughout all building.

Currently Nanchang's legislation is facing daunting challenges in its enforcement, according to Chen Tianpeng, deputy director of Nanchang Municipal Health Bureau.

The draft law requires a considerable number of government agencies which must be responsible for monitoring the planned law, as the municipal bureau of health which should watch over medical institutes, the food and drug bureau to supervise restaurants and bars, and police to control hotels and beauty salons.

“We are concerned that all these government agencies might not enforce the law appropriately. But at the same time a unique law enforcement team is impossible, because government can’t hire so many specialists in this field” Chen stated.

Approximately 30% of Nanchang's 4.64 million citizens are smokers. It was estimated that a half of the population is exposed to second-hand smoke.

“People are not so good informed about the consequences of smoking and second-hand smoke. This happens everywhere, but most of all in China,” Dr. Sarah England said in an interview.