The Birth of Scotlands Ban.

A tale of opportunism, media manipulation and confused messages from the pages of 'The Scotsman'

The tale starts long before this with the birth of the first anti-smoker but in 1971 the Royal Society of Physicians formed the anti-smoking charity ASH. Since then they have been in receipt of millions of pounds of taxpayer's money directed toward demonising smoking.

They claim they are against smoking not smokers but the two are inseparable and their blinkered view has led to smokers being openly abused and marginalised from society.

The cost in personal and community terms matters nothing to medical professionals and anti-smokers. They offer to help us kick the habit and become reformed smokers, much like other groups help people to become reformed criminals. But they are more the criminals in that they use every underhand trick in the book in an attempt to persuade the Country that smoking should be banned.

I have used The Scotsmans' online archive to display the media power the groups have and hope the reader appreciates that smokers and tolerent non-smokers simply get on with their lives, are not on a mission and have been penalised by a minority of single-minded smoke haters.

ALL FROM THE SCOTSMAN - Is there trend or Bias or ???????????

Propaganda Progress in Scotland

2002
Call on Cook to explain tobacco ad ban failure Mar 2 2002 - MORE than 20 health organisations have written to the Treasury to demand that more tobacco tax is spent on helping low-income smokers to quit. BUT do they care about those who don't or can't???
Tobacco tax call to help quitters -10 Apr 2002 -MORE than 20 health organisations have written to the Treasury to demand that more tobacco tax is spent on helping low-income smokers to quit. --Should that be FORCING
We must stub out this lethal habit- 24 Oct 2002 - Smoke-free areas in restaurants, banning smoking in workplaces and educating people to the dangers of second-hand smoke would be steps towards a healthier Scotland.
Sporting interests struggle to stimulate new funding as tobacco's days of coughing up set to end 27 Oct 2002 -You have to recognise, though, that the tobacco companies did kick-start sports sponsorship as we now know it. They started a trend back in the early 1970s, and all sports have benefited from that since."
Call to ban smoking in public places - 4 Dec 2002 -A recent study showed if all workplaces in the UK were smoke-free, smoking would drop by four per cent as workers gave up. - Doctor Odette Parry Who did the study?
2003
Union calls for smoking ban in pubs and offices - 31 Jan 2003 - "They will get an early whiff of what’s bound to happen here eventually, and that is a complete ban."
More youngsters trying cigarettes - 11 Mar 2003 -Researchers also found that for years the proportion of young smokers who want to quit has stayed at three out of four, despite government campaigns to discourage smoking - Could that be fault of poor quality campaigning?
Teenagers start to heed smoking warning - 12 Mar 2003 - SIGNS that Scottish teenagers may be taking heed of anti-smoking campaigns were welcomed today. - See above????
We should go public with a ban -Maureen Moore - 12 Mar 2003 - But fewer smokers means fewer profits for the tobacco companies. That’s why the tobacco companies pay PR companies and organisations such as FOREST a fortune to campaign against smoking restrictions.
Airport workers are fuming over ban on smoking - 8 Apr 2003 A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "We are keen to see an increase in smoke-free facilities. We have never ruled out statutory controls but we wish to give the voluntary approach an opportunity to deliver first."
But the crackdown means BAA staff have to squeeze into a prefab cabin when they want a cigarette
Cancer is not linked to passive smoking - 16 May 2003 - A spokeswoman for ASH Scotland, the anti-tobacco organisation, said: "The funding for this research came from tobacco industry front groups, and researcher Geoffrey Kabat has been explicitly linked with the tobacco industry on numerous occasions." And the funding for ASH came from Where?
Is the right to smoke in public being stubbed out for good? - 23 May 2003 - What it doesn’t say is that bans should be introduced.
Smoking gun for women's health - 6 Jun 2003 -Tanith Muller, of ASH Scotland, the anti-tobacco organisation, said the numbers of women who smoked during pregnancy was of grave concern.
Cancer head declares war on tobacco - -June 8 2003- David Davidson, Tory health spokesman in the Scottish Parliament, said: "We’ve got to try to minimise the damage from passive smoking but I don’t think you can ban this completely because not all premises can cope with that."
Professor wants pub smoke ban - 10 June 2003 -"A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "We are keen to see an increase in smoke-free facilities, but we wish to give the voluntary approach a chance." "
Banishing the blues could cut the chances of cancer - 23 June 2003 -In particular, the researchers found that being despondent for a long time (in their study the low mood had been present for at least six years) almost doubled your risk of getting cancer. -( no mention of stress/depression in Health Committee evidence)
Medical chief urges ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants- 4 July 2003 -Although it was giving "very serious consideration" to Sir Liam’s report, the department added that a big increase in the number of smoke-free public places would only come about if the public wanted it........... The report cited a British Medical Association estimate that in the UK at least 1,000 people die each year as a result of passive smoking.
No smoke without ire - 6 July 2003 - Although the mayor says only one in four New Yorkers smoke, owners and managers of bars claim business has dropped by up to 40% since the ban was introduced and that they have been forced to lay off staff. ...........But the restaurants’ losses have been the off-licences gain. More people now buy carry-outs and head home for their night’s entertainment.
MSPs consider smoking ban for pubs and restaurants - 6 July 2003 - Scotland on Sunday has learned that ministers, who are being lobbied by the country’s chief medical officer, will meet to discuss a ban in the autumn, following research claiming passive smoking is killing 1,000 British people every year.
Pubs could be forced to provide smoke-free spaces- 7 July 2003 "With the mood, both in public and in the Executive, moving against smoking, it is unlikely that ministers will persist with the voluntary code, which has been only partially successful."
Workplace smoking issue needs a fresh airing, insist officials - 18 July 2003 -Keith McNamara, the vice president of REHIS, said that although a draft approved code of practice was prepared by the Health and Safety Commission in 1999, it still had not "seen the light of day".
Enzyme linked to lung cancer risk - 4 Sept 2003 -SOME smokers could have a much greater risk of developing lung cancer than others, as they have low levels of a particular enzyme, researchers have claimed.
Healthy pub scheme goes up in smoke - 21 Sept 2003 The Ash spokeswoman said: "One problem is that it is likely to be restaurants which serve food which are actively complying with the code, but it is pubs where the real exposure to tobacco smoke lies." ............35,000 smoking-related hospital admissions every year. Scientific studies have suggested that as many as 14,000 deaths in Scotland each year can be linked to passive smoking.
BMA calls on Executive to ban smoking in public places - 23 Sept 2003 Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe insisted that the charter was making a difference, although he admitted some findings were disappointing.
AND
Voluntary smoking ban 'failing' - 23 Sept 2003 - Around 1,000 businesses, including 249 pubs and bars, 187 restaurants, 201 hotels and 50 cafés, were questioned in the ASH Scotland and Health Scotland report.
Campaign to demonise lighting up in public - 28 sept 2003 - "Professor Gerard Hastings, head of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Strathclyde University, said the task for the anti-smoking lobby now was to "de-normalise" smoking."
Majority against ban on smoking - Oct 27 2003 - "Earlier this month the Government declared that it could not justify a blanket ban on smoking in public places."
Everyone else can see smoking link -14 Nov 2003- SCIENTISTS and other experts with links to the tobacco industry infiltrated the World Health Organisation and published articles in medical and scientific journals without revealing their affiliations to the industry. .... "However, the majority of scientific studies show that passive smoking is harmful to health. Of those that do not, about three-quarters are linked to the tobacco companies. Scientific consensus is emerging, but public opinion is lagging behind, thanks to the tobacco industry’s sophisticated PR efforts."
Time to see through the fug of double standards - 18 Nov 2003- The next problem? How to keep drinking off the streets. Can’t wait to see how they’ll get round that one.
Doctors call for ban on smoking in public places - 25 Nov 2003"The Westminster public health minister, Melanie Johnson, maintained that voluntary changes were the best approach despite the calls for the government to alter the law."
Smoking ban 'will mean end for pubs' - 26 Nov 2003
Lancet calls for ban on cigarettes - 5 Dec 2003 An estimated 1000 people a year in Britain died from inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke, the editorial claimed........... Royal College of Physicians added that if all workplaces in the UK became smoke-free, 300,000 more people would give up the habit, saving 150,000 lives.
Capital bucks trend on total public smoking ban - 17 Dec 2003 -"A NEW poll has suggested that any proposed total ban on smoking in public places would not get the overwhelming support of people living and working in Edinburgh. " and that's from Nicotinell
Smoking to be banned in public under plan - 28 Dec 2003 He added: "We want to see what people think of smoking in public places and passive smoking, and one of the options could be legislation bringing in a ban. But we can only decide where we want to go once we’ve taken everyone’s views into account." - Could be interesting when compared with Consultation Data.
Charities back ban on public smoking - 29 Dec 2003 -That's Ash & Cancer Research UK - Nick Bish, the chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said: "A ban on smoking would be completely unhelpful. It would affect businesses and affect jobs in those businesses."
It's just another excuse to boss us about -ALLAN MASSIE - 29 Dec 2003 Like almost all statistics produced by government departments or pressure groups, this figure is meaningless. It’s a guess, and a dishonest one too.
Executive picks up a smoking gun - 29 Dec 2003 Tom McCabe, the deputy health minister, yesterday suggested that the Executive is ready to make a smoking ban a crusade in an effort to tackle the country’s historically appalling record on cancer deaths.
Charities back ban on public smoking - 29 Dec 2004 If reaction is favourable, ministers will move to a full public consultation on new legislation to ban smoking -
No smoke without ire as New York stubs out - 29 Dec 2003 -Now many bar managers and owners say the ban has hurt business, but others insist business is fine, even thriving, particularly where food is a main draw. ..... They found no cigarettes or evidence of smoking but instead took issue with a clean ashtray in his office and immediately handed out a $200 ticket.

2004
English pubs asked to set aside smoking areas - 3 Jan 2004 But Deborah Arnott, director of the public health charity ASH - Action on Smoking and Health - called on the government to legislate to ensure customers and workers had a smoke-free environment. + Tessa Jowell used the term 'Reformed Smoker'
Smoke zones aired after outright ban deemed 'impractical' - 8 Jan 2004 - Jack McConnell, the First Minister, said he would prefer some public areas to remain for use by smokers. The Executive will consult on a ban later this year.
Pubs warned of legal action over staff passive smoking - 12 Jan 2004 - Anti-smoking group ASH sent registered letters to 170 leading firms in the hospitality trade making it clear legal action will be taken on behalf of staff. - AND what a threatening letter it was too - (Who paid for it? - We did!) - "The campaign group said it would shortly be announcing how it intended to encourage workers to take legal action for compensation"
Summit to smoke out ideas on ban - 13 Jan 2004 - "The Executive is said to have an open mind on whether to introduce laws prohibiting lighting up in public, although First Minister Jack McConnell has indicated a blanket ban would be impractical. "
Doctors accuse Executive of failing to legislate for ban on public smoking - 14 Jan 2004 The British Medical Association (BMA) criticised the Executive, stating that it was "treading water" with its tobacco-control action plan.
Pubs urged to stub it out for tourists - 15 Jan 2004 - "Edinburgh should be providing a variety of places to cater for different tastes but no-one wants to see a scenario where a group of French or Italians being told to put their cigarettes out is their first experience of Edinburgh."
Borders to press ahead with bans on drinking and smoking - 2 Feb 2004 -BANS on drinking alcohol in public places in 16 Borders towns and villages and a complete no-smoking policy for 14 of the area’s entertainment venues are almost certain to be implemented later this year.
Anti-smoking ad is big hit - 3 feb 2004 -It means the public response to the ads has been the most impressive of any health awareness campaign the BHF has ever run.
MSP's bid to end smoking in restaurants - 4 Feb 2004 - However, First Minister Jack McConnell has ruled out suggestions it could lead to a complete ban on smoking in public places.
MSP tables plan for smoking ban - 4 Feb 2004 - While smokers would be allowed to light up in pubs where no food was served, pubs which sold food would have to ban smoking or stop serving food.
Anti-smoking bill 'will lead to a total ban' - 5 Feb 2004 - Ian Gibson, of Macmillan Cancer Relief, said: "Something that affects other people needs to be as culturally unacceptable as drinking that affects other people."
Battle lines drawn over smoking ban - 7 Feb 2004 - the Royal College of Physicians estimates that 320,000 smokers would quit if the ban became law, saving 160,000 lives as half of all smokers are killed by their habit. ................Outside of politics, opinion is similarly mixed. On the one side are those who welcome the proposals: the charities, government and to a certain extent restaurateurs. On the other are the tobacco and hospitality industries, which favour self-regulation. -------------------------NO MENTION OF SMOKERS
Slipping outside for a cigarette fails to protect children's health - 11 Feb 2004 Research has shown that children of parents who purposely go outside to smoke have twice as much cotinine, a constituent of nicotine, in their bodies as children of parents who do not smoke.
Smoking leads to impotence and infertility - 12 Feb 2004 - The British Medical Association’s (BMA) Board of Science and Tobacco Control Resource Centre states in a report that smoking damages almost all aspects of sexual, reproductive and child health.
Picture plan to shock smokers into giving up - 14 Feb 2006 - Smoking kills more than 120,000 people in the UK each year.
Anti-smoking lobby fumes at pro-cigar Arnie - 16 Feb 2004 - To comply with the state’s strict smoking laws, the cigar-loving Schwarzenegger is converting the state Capitol’s interior courtyard into an all-weather "smoking plaza" where he can entertain lawmakers and other power brokers.
Dust alert in smoker homes - 24 Feb 2004 - HOUSEHOLD dust holds a hidden danger for young children living in smoking households, according to a new study.
Smoking outside fails to protect youngsters in the home 24 Feb 2004 - The study, published in the BMA’s Tobacco Control journal, also found levels of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in outdoor smokers’ homes were up to seven times greater than in non-smoking households.
Pub becomes city's first to ban smoking - 28 Feb 2004 Maureen Moore, chief executive of Ash, said: "If you look at evidence from around the world where smoking bans have been introduced, businesses levels off and then goes up. There’s never been any evidence to show that takings go down."
Smoking 'increases risk of blindness' - 5 Mar 2004 - They concluded: "Evidence indicates that more than a quarter of all cases of AMD with blindness or visual impairment are attributable to current or past exposure to smoking." - Is it true that 1/4 of the population smokes?????
Councillor furious at rejection of smoking ban - 5 Mar 2004 -However, councillors decided by 44 votes to 27 to maintain the status quo until the end of the council term. BUT 3 Anti Smoking Comments were included and NO other comments
Turn ash into cash: quitting really pays 7 March 2004 -The savings to be made by quitting are significant. + Clydesdale Bank + Insurance Broker
Pubs smoking ban 'would save 4800' 10 Mar 2004 - To mark No Smoking Day, the campaign’s director, Ben Youdan, said banning tobacco in pubs, bars and all workplaces would save 4800 lives a year in England, Wales and Scotland.
No smoking - by Royal command 10 Mar 2004 -A ROYAL rant against the evils of smoking, penned by a Scottish king 400 years ago, will be used in a Borders school today - national No Smoking Day.
Breath test that can smoke out a serial killer 10 Mar 2004 By JULIA HORTON (Health Reporter?)- A Major anti-smoking rant + The British Medical Association and anti-smoking campaigners at Ash Scotland are demanding that the Scottish Executive abandon the code and instead bring in legislation to ban smoking in public places
Why lighting up always gets you down - 14 Mar 2004 The research explains why quitting smoking is so hard. Smokers are deprived of their dopamine "hit" and so crave the nicotine that will provide it. Nicotine patches release only a trickle of the chemical - not enough to produce a flood of dopamine and so not enough to eliminate nicotine desire. So why do they provide patches?? but Smoking, it now appears, causes stress in the first place.
If smoking is the symptom, what is the cure? 15 Mar 2004 - Tom McCabe, was confident he had the answer. If only those pesky Shettlestonians would smoke less their health outlook would be transformed. .........................But smoking is not only a cause of ill-health and poverty, it is a symptom. A symptom of low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, desperation even. Someone knows what he's talking about!!!!
Ban on smoking 'won't hurt bars' 24 Mar 2004 - The controversial ban will encourage more people to eat out, according to a report for the Office of Tobacco Control.
Irish smoking ban turns spotlight on Scotland 29 Mar 2004 Stuart Maxwell, the West of Scotland MSP and a vociferous campaigner for a smoke-free environment, ...................."Evidence shows that the majority of people in Scotland want a smoking ban enforced in public places." He added: "A recent BBC survey showed 73 per cent of people across the UK favoured such a ban, while 77 per cent of those surveyed in Scotland said they would support it." -- Here we go with amazing statistics THE BBC POLL (QUOTE ---- The consultation was not a scientific poll. People were asked to answer questions by phone or online. A total of 9,479 people responded)
Irish make light of public smoking ban 30 Mar The Irish government felt, however, that action was needed to save some of the 7,000 lives lost annually to smoking diseases. One study has shown passive smoking caused the deaths of 150 bar staff last year. +A spokesman for ASH said it was "the best thing to happen in decades". And Michael O’Shea, the chief executive of the Irish Heart Foundation, said it heralded an era "when health is set at a priority".+ Martin Raymond, the deputy director of programmes, said: But I believe we would seek consensus before such an initiative."
Health group looks to Irish smoking ban 30 Mar - I believe you have to take people with you, committed to diminishing the risks associated with smoking and passive smoking.
Executive may follow Ireland's ban on smoking 31 Mar -Mr McConnell, who is to visit Dublin to see how the initiative is working, has previously stated that he would not support an all-out ban.
Politician fired for lighting up 1 Apr -A PROMINENT member of the Irish Parliament has been sacked for breaking the new smoking ban law, it emerged today.
Smoking ban leaves Irish MP's career in ashes 2 Apr -John Deasy, the Irish opposition justice spokesman, was sacked
Smoking them out 4 Apr As we report today, ministers now believe that more Draconian measures are needed to make further inroads and to protect the majority of Scots who do not smoke..................A decision to ban smoking from any bar must be left to the publican. It may well be that over time more will opt to provide a smoke-free environment because that is what most customers want.
Irish find ban can be habit forming 4 Apr - A poll published by Ireland’s Office of Tobacco Control last month claimed 80% of Irish citizens were in favour of it.
Smoking ban in Scots restaurants and public places 'by end of the year' 4 Apr - They have already stopped short of an Ireland-style ban on smoking in pubs because they believe there is insufficient support among the public for such a step.
Wetherspoon chief wants smoking in pubs banned - 7 Apr -TIM MARTIN, the chairman of pub chain JD Wetherspoon, wants the Government to ban smoking in all pubs within the next two years. But he said his group would not go it alone in the absence of legislation. ...........said an outright ban was better than ad hoc efforts or a piecemeal ban peppering the industry across Britain.
Health chief calls for public smoking ban 7 Apr -Maureen Moore, chief executive of anti-smoking campaign group ASH Scotland, said at the weekend: "The voluntary approach has been around for three years and figures show seven out of ten pubs don’t have any designated smoke-free zones.
Glasgow councillors back call for smoking ban - 7 Apr -An Executive spokesman said: "We’re launching a consultation, hopefully in June, and then we want the public to tell us what they think."
Hostels to stub out smoking -9 Apr -The smoking bans in Dublin and New York have proved to be trouble-free with some reports recording a nine per cent increase in takings in bars and restaurants in New York in the year since the ban was introduced.
Cigarettes may seriously harm your career 12 Apr - OFFICE workers who reek of cigarette smoke are putting their reputation and career chances at risk, according to new research.
Drive launched for fire-safe cigarettes - 12 Apr 2004 - Fire statistics show cigarettes are among the most common causes of blazes in the home. + Dr Mac Armstrong, the country’s chief medical officer, said a ban was "a clear, obvious and logical next step".
Right to smoke 15 Apr - A NORWEGIAN county has declared smoking to be a basic human right in a dispute over a ban imposed on one town’s workers.
Anti-smoking drive for staff 19 Apr - A leaflet, published by Action on Smoking and Health and law firm Thompsons, offers advice to employees affected by other people smoking in the workplace ..At least three million people are estimated to be exposed to other people’s smoke at work.
BAT chief fumes over regulation 22 Apr OUTGOING British American Tobacco chairman Martin Broughton has told investors that he sees just one area of unfinished business - "unreasonable regulation which can harass, offend and socially exclude people who smoke".+ Overnight, a joint report from anti-smoking lobby group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Christian Aid and Friends of the Earth criticised BAT, the world’s second-largest cigarette firm, for its record on health and environmental issues, and damage to developing countries. Which has nothing to do with the article
City backing for smoking ban 28 Apr "City council leader Donald Anderson said today: We don’t want to turn smokers into pariahs as smoking is a serious addiction. The major concerns for us are about the impact of the secondary inhalation of cigarette smoke."
Tobacco stunts your grey matter, claim scientists 2May - SCIENTISTS have found that heavy smokers have less grey matter in their brains, which could make them more impulsive than non-smokers. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Smoking ban in restaurants 'here by 2005' - 2 May - Backers of a ban last night claimed the findings, which will be officially unveiled this week, would add unstoppable momentum to the move. ...........The proposed ban would create a minefield for licensing authorities and pub owners if it was enforced...........A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "The Scottish Executive will shortly launch a wide-ranging public consultation on the issue of smoking in public places and what should be done in the near future and we firmly believe that it is important to have the support of the Scottish people before making advances in this area."
Ex-ministers push case for Scots smoking ban - 4 May -The Executive will not want to introduce an unenforceable law which, like the litter law, would be widely ignored.
Former ministers back smoking ban - 4 May - Smoking is the most prominent cause of premature mortality in developed countries.
We must stub it out for good now by Sam Galbraith 4 May - (was a minister in both the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Office) It is true that banning smoking in public places raises issues of civil liberties, but they are all on the side of a ban - freedom from health hazards and antisocial behaviour
Help offer to quit smoking 6 May - If the woman is identified by a clinic or community midwife as a smoker, she will, if she chooses to do so, be referred to one of the two new, smoking-cessation link midwives."
New York taxes and ban make smokers give up - 13 May - "This city survey shows what can happen if you attack it really hard," said Russell Sciandra, the director of the Centre for a Tobacco-Free New York, an advocacy group.
Passive smoking 'killing hundreds' 17 May -at least 49 deaths a year among those working in the hospitality industry and a further 700 people due to environmental smoke in the workplace --- almost 4000 people die due to being exposed to tobacco smoke in their own homes each year,--- 3600 people under 65 died each year from lung cancer, heart disease and strokes caused by passive smoking at home. ---Doctors said the "startling figures" in the new report were unacceptable and could be completely prevented by making all indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.
Council bans smoking on famous Australian beach 19 May -mayor, Peter Macdonald, said the council was acting because of the problem of discarded butts and passive smoking
US expert backs MSP's call for public smoking ban 19 May - Dr Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the New York City Health Department, threw his weight behind proposals from Stewart Maxwell, a Nationalist MSP for West of Scotland. ........Dr Frieden said the smoking ban in New York had not damaged businesses "and may have even helped the industry". .
More than half of UK back a ban on smoking - 20 may -MORE than half of Britons are in favour of a total ban on smoking in public places, a survey revealed today. A Mintel poll - who commissioned it?
Legal dangers of smoking in the workplace - 20 May -MANAGERS in hotels, pubs and clubs across the country had a surprise start to the year when they received a letter from anti-smoking charity Ash. Why wait until now to resurrect the story? Just an ASH press opportunity.
Group's poll reveals 74% don't want smoking ban - 25 May -The Forest survey, carried out by Populus, found 68 per cent of people thought pubs should have separate smoking and non-smoking areas, but only 24 per cent believed smoking should be banned completely. - and of course ASH got in there - Action on Smoking and Health said their own research had shown the exact opposite to the Forest poll. A spokeswoman said: "The Government’s own surveys have shown an increase year on year in support for smoking to be banned in enclosed areas." Who was right? FOREST OF COURSE
Offer of help to quit smoking 27 May - PREGNANT mothers in Dundee who are desperate to give up smoking are to be offered one-to-one support to help them kick the habit.
Labour plans public smoking ban election pledge - 31 May - Alan Milburn, the former health secretary, is drawing up Labour’s manifesto for the next general election, expected next year. ...............Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, backed calls for a smoking ban
Norway stubs out smoking in public - 1 June - The Norwegian government says the ban is needed to protect people who work in bars and restaurants from the effects of second-hand smoke.
Oslo stubs out 2 June - NORWAY followed Ireland to become the second nation to outlaw smoking in all bars and restaurants yesterday with Oslo hoping the crackdowns will spur copycat bans around the world.
Poisoned spit - 2 June -SMOKING cigarettes can turn saliva in the mouth into a potentially lethal cocktail that promotes cancer, researchers say.
Blast at Executive smoking shelters - 4 June - THE Scottish Executive was today accused of "hypocrisy" after revealing plans to build smoking shelters for civil servants. AND - Maureen Moore, chief executive of anti-smoking campaign group Ash Scotland, added: "If these are not temporary shelters and are more permanent then that is very disappointing and not an example of best practice."
Smoke ban law move 7 June - A BAN on smoking in every Scottish pub and restaurant took a major step forward today with the launch of a massive consultation exercise...........Thousands of questionnaires will be distributed to libraries, doctors’ surgeries and other public outlets AND - Maureen Moore, "Most debates that take place on this issue focus on customers in bars and restaurants, rather than the employees. So I welcome the consultation process which will allow them to be heard." Do they focus on the customers?
Ministers to decide on smoking ban later this year - 8 June - About 19,000 Scots die each year from smoking-related diseases, according to the Executive, and smoking is estimated to cost the NHS £20 million.
Reid ignites 'sink estate' smoking row 9 June - smoking is one of the few pleasures left for those living on council sink estates. TRUE ........"I just do not think the worst problem on our sink estates by any means is smoking, but that is an obsession of the learned middle class" AND Deborah Arnott, condemned Dr Reid’s statement. "Smoking is the single greatest cause of the large difference in life expectancy between the rich and the poor." and the Tory comment It is impossible to see how the Government can promote a consistent public health strategy when with one hand it is funding the British Heart Foundation’s ad campaign against smoking and with the other John Reid makes remarks like these,"
Tobacco lobby attacks smoking ban plan - 9 June - In evidence to the committee, both Tim Lord, the director of the TMA, and Simon Clark, the director of the smoking lobby group FOREST, insisted that claims of the effects of passive smoking had not been proved. ............claimed Mr Maxwell’s bill had "a much broader agenda" than its stated purpose of preventing people being exposed to the effect of passive smoking in some public areas. Only 2 days ago it was announced that the Consultation would be launched???

Reid's smoking gaffe goes down poorly - 10 June - JOHN Reid was denounced yesterday by political opponents and praised by anti-poverty campaigners for warning that smoking cigarettes is one of the few pleasures that poor people have in their lives.................Mr Reid is the first to argue that this policy is projecting middle-class prejudices on poorer people..... AND ............ASH said to talk about smoking as a pleasure middle-class people wanted to deny to others was foolish. It said Mr Reid was being patronising and would pursue a smoking ban if he was truly interested in helping the worse-off.
Four out of five support workplace smoking ban - 11 June - The poll of more than 4000 people carried out for Action on Smoking and Health found that 80 per cent backed an end to second-hand smoke in pubs, restaurants and offices.
Health warning - 13 June - ...and even in the NHS itself, who believe that "smoking kills" and other explicit health warnings simply do not work. ........."It is not just the politicians who get a little frustrated with the so-called do-gooders telling people what is good for them. "There is an established line of research into the social value of smoking, looking at how it can make people feel better and help them get on with their lives. There is evidence that young working-class women in particular use smoking and cigarettes as a social activity, which helps them get on with people. ...........the health consequences might outweigh all of this, but the point that is made is that we should not arbitrarily remove their choice just because we feel it’s not in their best interests.
Smoking ban not enough say health chiefs - 15 June - SMOKING should be banned in all Scottish pubs, the country’s directors of public health have told MSPs..........We do not see how the Scottish Parliament can leave such a group of workers at risk," said the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland.
Pupils tell MSPs of support for anti-smoking measures - 16 June - a group of six pupils - three from Mile End Primary School, in Aberdeen, and three from Firrhill High School, Edinburgh
MSPs pressed on public smoking ban - 17 June - "There is now enough evidence from Ireland and the US to show a ban doesn’t hurt business. ..............Mr Coutts said most people supported a ban and there should be no problems with enforcement or policing it.
Good news for young smokers - 19 June - PEOPLE who quit smoking before the age of 35 can have lives as long and healthy as people who never smoked, a new study shows.
Tobacco barons try to kick a bad habit in Hollywood - 19 June - Now cigarette companies are lobbying Hollywood studios to remove shots showing characters smoking their products.
Disease that kills 45 people every day in the UK - 21 June It can occur anywhere in the colon or rectum and the risk factors associated with it include a history of chronic bowel inflammation or ulcerative colitis; a previous history of adenomatous polyps; a diet that is high in red meat and fat and low in vegetables; being overweight; smoking and heavy drinking.
Reducing the risks of cancer 21 June - GIVE up smoking - and if you are a young female, give up smoking yesterday..........BE lucky. You can do all of the above and still get cancer. The main cause of cancer is bad luck. It’s not your fault. DON’T worry. Whatever it is you’ve got, the chances are that it isn’t cancer. About 75 per cent of us will die from something else.
Beer garden smoking ban plan stubbed out - 21 - In written evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s health committee, city chiefs raised the prospect of extending the ban to beer gardens, warning that health risks exist outside as well as indoors. .........Tom Ponton, the city’s Lib Dem health spokesman, also questioned the move. The non-smoker and publican added: "It’s ridiculous for anybody to suggest people shouldn’t be able to smoke outside. ......"We are saying that one thing to consider is, what are the circumstances in which smoking would be banned? Environmental health wardens will be called to enforce this legislation and we need absolute clarity."
How nicotine went from Public Enemy to fashion accessory by EWAN FERGUS 22 June - and for some smokers its illicitness has merely heightened the appeal. ..........But despite of all these bans - or perhaps because of them - smoking undoubtedly still holds a place in society.
Smoking ban backed by Lib Dems - 25 June - "This is a policy which has been proven to work in Ireland, New York and California, and we think it’s time we implemented it in Scotland."
It may pay those who are nearing retirement to smoke - 26 June - SMOKERS were warned this week that their habit will carve ten years off their life expectancy, by research published in the British Medical Journal...........Professor Sir Richard Doll has tracked the lives and deaths of almost 34,500 doctors since 1951. His report shows that some two-thirds who smoked from youth die prematurely - one in four by middle age What about the non-smoking doctors?
Big Apple backs big Scots smoking ban - 28 June - "The evidence that second-hand smoke kills is clear and consistent. Even 30 minutes of exposure can increase the risk of a heart attack. Second-hand smoke also increases the risk of lung cancer. Workers in the hospitality industry breathe more second-hand smoke than any other occupational group in the US and, as a result, are more likely to die from lung cancer."
Gallaher sales suffer in 'no-smoking' Republic - 30 June - IRELAND’S anti-smoking campaign is starting to bite, Gallaher, maker of Benson & Hedges and Mayfair cigarettes, has revealed.
4500 doctors in push for smoking ban - 30 June - Prime Minister Tony Blair will be hit with thousands of letters from doctors calling for a ban on smoking in public places.
Gallaher's sales set to make a packet - 30 June - But the group behind the Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut and Mayfair cigarette brands said it had seen sales drop by almost ten per cent in Ireland, where sales were hurt by a smoking ban in public places and tax rises.
Scots doctors back smoke ban at work - 30 June - "Employee smoking is estimated to cost businesses in Scotland as much as £450 million from lost productivity and an additional £4 million as a result of fire damage,"
Labour closing in on public smoking ban - 1 July - Mr Blair is under intense pressure from health professionals to impose a ban and yesterday the British Medical Association called for such a ban to be introduced across the UK. The reports of a proposed ban came as scientists claimed that passive smoking could be twice as harmful as previously feared.
Bid to cut cigarette fires - 2 July - CIGARETTES would have to be "self-extinguishing" before they could be sold in Scotland, under proposals that were to be put before the Scottish Parliament today. ........Mr Maxwell said cigarettes were the biggest single cause of fire deaths in Scotland.
Ministers to ban smoking in pubs - 4 July - SMOKING is to be banned in all of Scotland’s 7,500 pubs and bars under government plans to follow the highly successful tobacco-free zones in Ireland and New York, it emerged last night. ........Simon Clark, the director of the smokers’ rights lobby group Forest, said: "....The smoking ban in Ireland was forced through by an ambitious minister who wanted to make his name. This ban is about politics, and the need to be seen to be doing something rather than about health
Doctors petition Blair over smoking ban - 5 July - Two leading members of the British Medical Association ..........of the British Medical Association brought a large-scale replica of a cigarette packet to Whitehall to make their point. ...........Over 1000 people per year in the United Kingdom die as a direct result of passive smoking in the workplace. ...........The event came as an ICM poll revealed 65 per cent of people supported a ban on smoking in enclosed public places such as pubs and restaurants.
The health benefits are filtering down by Brian Cavanagh (chairman of NHS Lothian) - 7 July - Restrictions on smoking are working well in Ireland and evidence suggests that similar bans are also working well in New York and other regions across the United States. ............The public consultation on smoking in public places ends on September 30. To take part, log on at www.scotland.gov.uk/smokingconsultation or e-mail your views to smokingconsultation@scotland.gsi.gov.uk using "consultation response" as the subject of your e-mail. You can also write to the Smoking in Public Places Consultation Team at 3E(S), St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG Readers of The Scotsman were given the information
Cigarette packet health warning 'cover-up' firm condemned - 11 July - But the company’s managing director, Jackie Gunn,................said: "There are quite a lot of things the BMA and the health experts don’t like, aren’t there? When you are having a cigarette you want to relax and not be reminded of the nanny state.
Nicotine may be good for your health - 18 July - Medical experts believe the drug - separated from tobacco - could be used to treat schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as a series of hyperactivity disorders.
Pub is hit by smoking fine - 21 July - Inspectors said they found cigarette butts on the floor of Folan’s pub in April, then caught three customers smoking during a return visit in May.
Danger: Smoking can seriously hurt your self-image - 29 July -SIR Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales, renewed calls for a ban on smoking in public places yesterday, piling more pressure on the government to take decisive action. ...........also commissioned a "formal economic analysis" of the effects of a ban on business ....................The analysis showed that the benefits for employers and employees of a ban could be as much as £2.3 billion to £2.7 billion a year, taking into account costs such as production lost to cigarette breaks (£430 million) and reduced cleaning costs (£100 million).
Wallace clears the air by backing smoke ban - 1 Aug - The Lib Dem leader told Scotland on Sunday last night that the argument in favour of outlawing smoking in public places was now "increasingly compelling". - Iain Brotchie, spokesman for ASH Scotland, said: "We too believe that it is now time to take this step forward and end smoking in all public places." .........."We are looking at saving 1,000 lives a year in Scotland. That is far more than are killed in traffic accidents every year." ................. Eight out of 10 pubs still allow smoking throughout the pub, despite the fact that only 30% of adults actually smoke. Seventy per cent of smokers want to give up."
Row ignites over MSPs' smoke room - 5 Aug - Maureen Moore, chief executive of Ash Scotland, said: "We are disappointed as we believe that all new-builds should be smoke-free throughout............... insisted the MSP smokers should be given patches and gum to help them give up, rather than encouragement to continue. "Smokers should be provided with some replacement therapies such as nicotine chewing gum or patches. The smoking facilities offer absolutely no encouragement for smokers to quit a habit which kills over half its users and 13,000 people in Scotland every year."
Smoking ban in public places wins support - 6 Aug - ABOUT 25 people attended the first Lothians public meeting seeking feedback on plans to ban smoking in public places. Most people at yesterday’s gathering at the Prentice Centre in Granton supported the controversial Scottish Executive proposals, although only two of those present were smokers.
Backing for smoke ban - 7 Aug - William MacNee, professor of respiratory and environmental medicine at Edinburgh University, ...........He today spoke out in favour of proposals by the Scottish Executive to ban smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants. ..............."The hard facts cannot be ignored - 52 people die in Scotland every day due to bronchial-related illnesses, 58,000 die in the UK every year, 90 per cent of causes are smoking-related and it costs the NHS £2.5 billion annually."
Bring smoking ban to Scotland - 10 Aug - I RECENTLY visited Toronto and, like New York and Ireland, smoking is banned in public places....... I can’t see any negatives in smoking bans and I think Scotland should follow suit now. Nathan Davidson, Eyre Place, Edinburgh
Provost backs ban on smoking in public places - 12 Aug - EDINBURGH’S Lord Provost ............Lesley Hinds, head of Scotland’s national health promotions agency and the Capital’s civic leader, called on the Scottish Executive to take the "brave" decision to introduce legislation as soon as possible............High levels of smoking in areas of deprivation and the impact a ban would have on the health of workers in bars and restaurants are her main reasons............Brian Cavanagh, the chairman of NHS Lothian, said: "I feel such a prohibition would make Edinburgh an even more attractive and welcoming city."
Nicotine patch help for pupils - 14 Aug - CHILDREN as young as 14 have been given nicotine patches in a successful stop smoking scheme.
Only 25% back total smoking ban - 19 Aug - A survey of 1,000 pub customers in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow found that only 24 per cent back a total ban. ...............The UK-wide ONS survey found only 20 per cent of the public wanted a total smoking ban in pubs, with 87 per cent backing a ban in restaurants.
Free lung tests to alert smokers - 21 Aug - About 13,000 people in Glasgow alone suffer from the condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which costs the NHS in Scotland more than £20 million a year.
Heart risk greater for young smokers - 24 Aug - PEOPLE under 40 are five times more likely to have a heart attack if they smoke..........suggesting smoke from cigarettes produced ten times more air pollution than diesel car fumes.
Smoking ban meeting to kick up stink 25 Aug - Maureen Moore, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health Scotland, is due to appear at a public meeting in Livingston today to discuss the controversial issue.
Mums-to-be patches probe - 26 Aug - SCIENTISTS have launched a £1 million study into the possible risks of nicotine patches to pregnant smokers and unborn children.
Pub's smoke ban proves a big draw 26 Aug - A PUB that became the first in Scotland to impose a complete smoking ban is celebrating an increase in business. ....A spokesman for the anti-smoking group ASH Scotland said: "We’re absolutely delighted to hear about the success of Lauriston Farm.
First Minister fuming over smoking room - 30 Aug - FIRST Minister Jack McConnell has criticised the decision to include a smoking room in the new Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.
Weight soon over for pill that fights fags and flab - 30 Aug - A NEW miracle pill that helps people to lose weight and stop smoking could be available within two years, scientists have claimed......................Being overweight, smoking and diabetes are all factors in heart disease
Pubs could get smoking ban compensation - 30 Aug - The Executive is currently examining a scheme which would pay out if licensed premises could demonstrate they had lost business as a direct result of the ban. .............with turnover in Ireland down only 2 or 3 per cent. However, this seems to be because smokers are deciding not to frequent pubs, but to buy their drink from off licences and drink it at home.
No butts, First Minister praises Irish smoking ban 31 Aug - JACK McCONNELL today praised Ireland’s ban on smoking in pubs, as it emerged a record 22,000 people had sent in comments on whether Scotland should do the same. ..............The First Minister also said the Scottish Executive’s smoking consultation was "the biggest and most successful consultation we have ever run."
Have your say on smoking ban - 31 Aug - The campaign encourages waiting patients to complete a consultation response form for the Scottish Executive.
Smokers believe ban won't work here - 1 Sept - but last night the amount of anger it stirred up gave Jack McConnell something serious to think about - Lots of angry comment
McConnell's Dublin conversion - 1 Sept - There is even, conceivably, a case for a referendum on matters such as this, which involve a major change in the public’s civil rights. ..............But if the Executive mishandles the consultation on a smoking ban, and botches the subsequent legislation, there is no guarantee that the outcome will be quite so peaceful in late-night bars in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness.
McConnell copies Ireland and pushes smokers out into cold - 1 Sept - But it is becoming increasingly clear that the one place in the world where it is impossible to find an authentic Irish bar, in the traditional sense, is Ireland. ....................."It has had a profoundly adverse effect on the social life of many Irish people, not least the more vulnerable and marginalised in society such as the elderly and handicapped." ...............The ban has spread: some apartment buildings in the city now ban smokers from buying property and moves are afoot in the New York state legislature to ban smoking in cars carrying children and, even, on the state’s beaches
Smoking lobby to take on McConnell - "I had thought it may be impractical and impinge on business but there is no doubt from what I have seen that it has been a great success and improved both the atmosphere and the environment." .............Tory MSP Brian Monteith said: "One wonders why the Executive has gone to the trouble of an expensive consultation exercise when the First Minister appears to have made up his mind. He has obviously already dismissed all the problems being encountered in Ireland, such as the huge fall in bar takings, the laying off of staff and the closing of many pubs. "So why should we expect the Executive to listen to the Scottish public who have said they are against an outright ban or Scottish publicans who fear for their businesses?" Mr Monteith said opinion polls showed the public backed more measures to restrict smoking, but were against a blanket ban................Irish drinks industry claims trade has dropped by up to 15 per cent.
In 18 months' time this might be the law in every public place in Scotland - 1 Sept - However, the move immediately brought a backlash the First Minister will have to overcome from publicans, opposition politicians and pro-smoking lobbyists...............A spokesman for the Conservatives said the party was firmly opposed to any Executive-imposed smoking ban.
Tobacco war looms for First Minister as drinkers revolt - 2 Sept - In Mr McConnell’s Lanarkshire constituency, the mood is defiant.
Battle lines drawn as smoke ban nears - 2 Sept - Mr Waterson said: "We are trying to highlight the unfairness of this, having this statement [from Mr McConnell] in the middle of the consultation...........The Tories are the only major party to oppose the ban, arguing that the Executive would be acting like a "nanny state" were it to outlaw smoking in all public places.
McConnell's usual caution has gone up in smoke - 2 Sept - Now, though, he has made it clear he wants to do something which will revolutionise life in Scotland, regardless of the views of thousands of his party’s voters. ........He has to carry the population with him. He will be encouraged, both by the lack of opposition in Ireland and the early returns to the Executive’s consultation, which suggest that there is strong support in Scotland for a ban. But the whole enterprise will fail if smokers feel they are being railroaded into this change.
Capital pub chiefs unite in smoking ban battle - 3 Sept - "This isn’t just a question of licensees complaining of lost profits - research has shown that if trade were to drop by just 20 per cent, that would result in tens of thousands of jobs being at risk and the likely closure of many businesses with all the resultant impact that would have on the economy."
Experts call for smoking ban to cut lung disease - 4 Sept - "The facts cannot be ignored. More than 4000 people die in Scotland each year due to COPD, 90 per cent of causes are smoking-related, it costs the NHS £2.5 billion annually and it costs the economy £3.5 billion every year."
Findlay promises to challenge smoking ban 5 Sept - Donald Findlay QC, a man as dedicated to the joys of tobacco as he is to the law, says the Scottish Parliament risks acting beyond its powers if it bans workplace smoking, and has warned that he personally might mount a legal challenge. Last night Findlay won influential backing for his view from Robert Black, professor of Scots law at Edinburgh University and a non-smoker.
Calls to raise smoking age 6 Sept - FOUR out of five people want the legal smoking age to be raised from 16 to 18 to prevent young people taking up the habit. ICM conducted a nationwide phone poll on behalf of the BBC of 1010 adults in England, Wales and Scotland.
Publicans will challenge smoking ban - 6 Sept - The Scottish Licensed Trade Association said it would mount court action against the Executive to recoup lost revenue if pubs are forced to impose the tobacco ban.
Protest at 'crippling' smoke ban - 8 Sept _ Freedom2Choose claims evidence taken from Ireland and New York - where such restrictions exist - shows that business has fallen in licensed premises almost a third in areas where a ban exists. ............"It would ostracise millions of people who smoke in pubs. Far more serious is the risk such a ban would have to jobs. A growing amount of evidence is showing that the ban is hitting businesses hard."
Stubbing out our right to be heard 8 Sept - WHEN is a consultation not a consultation? The answer is when it’s conducted by the Scottish Executive. .....Public meetings are dominated by anti-tobacco groups and "experts", and we have to fight even to get a representative on to the speaker roster to get our voices heard............Even before the consultation started, we had the Scottish Minister for Enterprise, Jim Wallace, saying that he was in favour of a total ban. One would have thought that the Enterprise Minister would have consulted business leaders on such an important topic...........Officials far prefer "statistics" produced through very dubious tactics by anti-tobacco/anti-pub activists that prove massive support for a ban. This massive support simply does not exist. ............Forcing smokers out of the pub into the home, where they will smoke in front of their children, will not move us towards a healthier Scotland..............Mr McConnell’s reported remark - "Frankly, it’s no bad thing that people might drink less" - illustrates this very well. AND LOTS MORE
Smoking ban would hit jobs, critics say 9 Sept - A SMOKING ban could have "crippling consequences" for jobs in Scotland,
Experts to discuss ban on smoking in public places - 9 Sept - Experts on health, tobacco control and the licensed trade will speak at a conference at the EICC in Edinburgh today as part of the Executive’s consultation on smoking in public places. ...........A spokesman for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association said yesterday that they were keen to make sure it was a balanced debate........"The conference itself is dominated by the health people and people who helped bring in the bans in New York and Ireland. We are in the middle of a consultation process and it is good to try to get everybody together. We are keen to get our point across and add a business dimension to the debate. There is no doubt that in rural Ireland and parts of Dublin the trade is being decimated. ........."
Bar smoking ban looms in third of pubs 9 Sept - By the end of the year, 22,000 pubs and bars will have banned smoking at bar areas, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. And within five years, 80 per cent of pub space will become non-smoking. .......We are conscious of the effect the ban has had in Ireland, which has seen a 15 per cent fall in trade. If a ban was introduced in the UK and had the same effect here, it would mean the closure of 5000 pubs and the loss of 75,000 jobs. ....."It would cost the UK economy £3.5 billion and cost the Treasury in lost tax £1bn."
Global smoke signals - 9 Sept - AS ABOVE
Opponents of ban on smoking launch campaign to stop 'political suicide' -9 Sept - Liam Stratton, the Scottish spokesman for Freedom2Choose, said: "We just couldn’t stand by and watch a ban be imposed. I think it’s unwise for Jack McConnell to give his opinion before the consultation has ended. ............."We don’t feel that the public is being properly consulted and pub goers aren’t being asked their opinions." ............Who is going to police this ban? We’re in Glasgow and if everyone’s forced out on the street after a big football match, then that will prove a recipe for disaster." ................"I’ve been to Dublin ............. "Every person I spoke to said that trade was down - even the taxi drivers told us that people were shifting from the pubs to their homes. A ban here would kill the licensed trade."
Scots smoke ban 'could save £300m' - 10 Sept -The biggest element was a net saving of £283m in productivity gains from the cigarette breaks that would no longer be possible in workplaces if the ban went ahead.
First Minister undeterred on smoking ban 10 Sept - THE prospect of thousands of pub and restaurant workers losing their jobs will not deflect the Scottish Executive from introducing a ban on smoking
Pub breaks tradition and kicks habit -11 Sept -Pub breaks tradition and kicks habit
Smoking ban may be in by summer - 11 Sept - Stewart Maxwell called on First Minister Jack McConnell and his colleagues to use the Bill he has already introduced in the Scottish Parliament as the best vehicle for outlawing smoking in public places.
Stubbing out with a friend - 13 Sept - "When someone decides to quit smoking, it’s important for them to identify with someone who can share and understand the highs and lows they will experience during this difficult time."
Liverpool's smoke ban bid 21 Sept - A plan for a local act of parliament to prohibit smoking in restaurants, pubs, shops, offices and other enclosed workplaces, is to be considered by the city council.
Tobacco on trial - 22 Sept - ONE of the biggest lawsuits in US history has begun against tobacco companies for covering up the dangers of smoking.
Murrayfield fans face smoking ban - 24 Sept - Murrayfield fans face smoking ban -------Tom McCabe. "The SRU is responding to changes in our society and helping to promote good citizenship."
Stubbed out - 21 Sept - THOUSANDS of Irish smokers have successfully quit the habit since the smoking ban in pubs was introduced, according to a survey yesterday.
McConnell in smoke-free isolation - 29 Sept -JACK McConnell has been told by the Westminster government that he will have to go it alone if he wants to introduce a blanket ban on smoking --A UK health white paper will be published in mid-October ......... neither the white paper nor the manifesto will include proposals for a blanket ban.....Mr Reid wants to introduce a pick-and-mix approach to smoking, banning smoking in areas where food is served but allowing it in other places - including some pubs -
City backs total ban on smoking - 29 Sept - EDINBURGH has thrown its weight behind the campaign to outlaw smoking in all workplaces
Make your views clear on smoking 30 Sept - CONTRARY to some claims, we are making every effort to engage all interested parties in the consultation process..........Smoking is ultimately a matter of individual choice and we have no intention of interfering with that. But freedom of choice should not involve damaging the health of our fellow citizens.
Smokers hit out at McConnell - 1 Oct - SMOKERS’ lobby group Forest............ questioned the way the consultation process was handled, and criticised the visit by First Minister Jack McConnell to Ireland .....without meeting any group known to have reservations about the Irish legislation
SFA 'should follow rugby smoke ban' - 2 Oct - Stewart Maxwell, .............said all spectators at sporting events should be able to enjoy a smoke-free environment.
Last of a dying breed - 4 Oct - FOR those still seduced by the dubious charms of Madame Nicotine, the world is an ever-shrinking place.
Tobacco firms accused of destroying documents - 5 Oct -The documents are thought to include research that would show the industry knew that smoking was dangerous.
Smoke risk for half of babies in poor areas - 5 Oct -NEARLY half of newborn babies in the Capital’s poorest areas are being exposed to passive smoking ---Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: ""We hope these figures bolster the Scottish Executive and NHS Scotland’s commitment to smoking cessation services." ----------Research has also found that the children of smokers are more likely to go on to become smokers themselves.
Leader backs smoking ban - 6 Oct - MIDLOTHIAN Council leader Adam Montgomery has added his support to a ban on smoking in enclosed public places.
Group backs smoking ban as more women die from lung cancer 12 Oct - According to new figures, there was a 29 per cent rise in the number of lung cancer deaths among the female population of the Borders between 1990 and 2002,
BMA slates failure on smoking ban - 14 Oct - BMA’s council welcomed the success of legislation in Ireland and Norway, but passed an emergency motion expressing concern at delays by the UK and devolved governments to introduce laws to protect the public health.
Australian bars and hotels prepare for smoking ban - 14 Oct - "For a person working in a bar for eight hours, that’s equivalent to smoking half a packet of cigarettes"
Smoker fined for used match - 15 Oct - A MAN who was fined £135 for dropping a used match in the street today branded the punishment "ridiculous".
Health Secretary under fire for passive smoking risks 'cover-up' - 19 Oct - Five years of evidence has proved beyond doubt that those frequently exposed to cigarette smoke face grave health risks, according to the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health....... ASH spokeswoman said that its suppression had cheated the national consultation on smoking.
New call on smoking ban - 21 Oct - The BMA’s Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: "The UK is failing to protect people from the deadly effects of second-hand smoke. The time has come to legislate to save lives."
Liverpool demands law to ban smoking in public places - 21 Oct - LIVERPOOL last night became the first city in the UK to demand legislation to outlaw smoking......(Ash), Deborah Arnott, said: "The fact that Ireland has been so successful and the legislation has been so easy to initiate and enforce has definitely been a factor in the increased popularity of this bill."
McConnell to face backlash over smoke ban - 24 Oct - The SLTA was infuriated by what it saw as a betrayal of trust by McConnell who, on a visit to Dublin in the summer, gave a clear hint that he backed plans for an Ireland-style full ban..............Maureen Moore, ... Ash Scotland said: "This is all about removing carcinogens from the workplace and protecting bar workers, and I would have thought that the Licensed Trade Association would want to support that."
Executive to adopt smoking ban after 54,000 speak out - 25 Oct - Mr Dobson ...........refused to criticise Dr John Reid, the current Secretary of State for Health, by name, but he made it clear that he feared his successor would fail to implement a total ban. "There is a danger we will come up with some stupid, pathetic compromise," ........."The tobacco industry would try to influence people locally, getting together with some bar owners, financed by zillions of pounds, to make it impossible."
Bar chiefs set to blow smoke in Jack's face - 26 Oct - Members of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association are expected to start smoking to demonstrate their opposition to the anticipated ban.
Historic pub puts ban on smoking - 26 Oct - the White Hart Inn, in the Grassmarket, is the only pub in the heart of Edinburgh to crack down on cigarettes..........Alistair Don, president of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, welcomed the move. "We would be happy if there were smoke-free pubs because it gives people the choice and reflects customer demand
Publicans pledge to fight Executive ban on smoking - 26 Oct - Speaking tonight at the SLTA’s annual dinner in Glasgow its chairman, Stuart Ross, will launch a damning attack on the Executive’s smoking consultation.
McConnell issues plea to pubs to help stop smoking - 27 Oct - ministers have come down in favour of a ban and it will be announced on 10 November ............ any ban would strike a blow to Scotland’s fragile tourist industry.
Smoking ban backlash - 31 Oct - Standard Life is understood to be about to sell its stake in brewery and pub company Belhaven because of worries that the likely ban will hit pub profits.
McConnell faces cabinet resistance to smoking ban- 4 Oct - A senior Labour source revealed that the cabinet was not united in its approach to the issue, despite the First Minister’s well-publicised favour of an across-the-board ban.
Tobacco factory workers walk out - 3 Nov - 24-hour strike after rejecting a 2.6 per cent pay offer
Beer sales hit by ban on smoking - 3 Nov - SALES of beer have plummeted in Ireland..........Forty-two pubs in the Irish capital have gone on the market this year, with 19 failing to sell ................ Scottish Executive claimed the beer sales figures were "anecdotal" ... Mr McConnell said that if people drank less alcohol as a result of the ban, it could bring health benefits. "Sometimes that impact, although it is portrayed badly, might not be a bad thing,"
Scots cabinet set to back smoking ban - 4 Nov - AN outright ban on smoking in enclosed public places looks set to be approved by the Scottish cabinet
Appeal over cigarette ad curbs rejected - 5 Nov - CIGARETTE manufacturers today lost their High Court challenge to new Government measures restricting tobacco advertising
Ban could have smokers placed under surveillance - 5 Nov - "It is likely that an element of covert surveillance could be required. ....... Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said yesterday: "Some of the suggestions are just plain daft. As if the unwarranted infringement on our civil liberties wasn’t enough, now some councils want to go even further."
Police chiefs refuse to enforce smoking ban - 6 Nov - SENIOR police officers have told ministers they would not be prepared to enforce the Scottish Executive’s planned ban........... warning opens the way for new teams of "smoking police" ......Cancer Research UK has paid for a series of full page advertisements in Scottish newspapers urging the Executive to implement a full ban.
Smoke ban defies the public mood - 7 Nov - MINISTERS look set to ban smoking in pubs despite their own poll revealing that two-thirds of the public are opposed to the move. ........... poll, conducted by Market Research UK........................said the questionnaire was not biased, but claimed that parts of the document were "socially and emotionally loaded".
Smokers in Scots pubs will face £3600 fine - 7 Nov - The severity of the proposed fine last night drew an angry response from licensees and opponents to the ban, who said that smokers who lit up in pubs would be getting heavier penalties than drunk drivers or anti-social thugs. ........... Rather than face fines, a recent survey found that 97% of pubs in Ireland have now complied with the ban. ........... A spokesman for the Conservatives said: "The government doesn’t seem to be able to grasp the basic point that making smoking a criminal offence is not the way to deal with this. "It is an attack on civil liberties. A voluntary code is by far the best way to proceed. The fact that the police are running a mile from wanting to enforce this speaks volumes."
Health experts demand action on smoking - 8 Nov - The intervention, by Professor Alex Markham, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, and seven of Scotland’s pre-eminent cancer specialists is intended to "stiffen the resolve" of Mr McConnell.
Business chief to fund fight against smoking ban 8 Nov - Dennis Coppola "It beggars belief that the Government is making it nigh on impossible for a person to smoke in civilised surroundings on the one hand and yet on the other is taking in billions of pounds in tax from the very same activity
McConnell needs willpower to end this bad habit 8 Nov - they have already lost the battle over a smoking ban ........ Organised opposition to a ban on smoking has been impossible to co-ordinate. .......... The First Minister declared last week that he would act in "the nation’s interests" not "public opinion"
McConnell plans get out on total smoke ban 8 Nov - became clear yesterday that the penalties for those who consistently break the new ban will be hefty ........ 70 per cent of the population opposed to a total ban at the moment
English train travellers to be hit by Scots smoke ban 9 Oct - "If there is a ban in Scotland, the likelihood is we will adhere to that throughout the route." - GNER insider
The right to light up 10 Nov - A YEAR ago, a ban wasn’t even on the Executive’s legislative radar ... But perhaps the bigger issue of concern is what precedent this sets for future intervention by the state.
Pubs threw away chance to avoid total smoking ban 10 Nov - SCOTLAND’S pubs and clubs could have avoided an all-out smoking ban had the licensed trade done more to restrict smoking over the past five years .......... Andy Kerr, the health minister, will meet Professor Alex Markham, the head of Cancer Research UK, before today’s crucial Cabinet meeting.
Pub smoking ban will start in spring 10 Nov - Tory MSP Brian Monteith vowed to fight the legislation and said: "There is no denying that smoking is bad for your health, but that cannot be used as a reason to impose a blanket ban. People must be allowed to make their own decisions." ......... Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: " ......... devastate the trade, end the social lives of millions of people ....... cost people their jobs ......... 70 per cent of people don’t want a ban .....1600 people in it at 2am on a Saturday it’s a difficult situation . ......... see 20,000 to 30,000 job losses ..... a lot of villages are going to lose the heart and soul of their community....."
Scots smoking ban announced 10 Nov - Scottish cabinet ministers today unanimously agreed to ban smoking in enclosed public places.
Pub bosses in bid to battle smoking ban 11 Nov - pub bosses were today taking legal advice on how they could challenge the proposed ban ......... Mr McConnell .... concluded an outright ban would be simpler to understand and easier to enforce.
All go for business of stopping 11 Nov - Easyway, reputedly the world’s most successful smoking clinic, continues to expand in Scotland. ......... "ASH [Action on Smoking and Health] calculates that employing a smoker can cost a company an extra £2,000 a year," says Bergin ......... "The Department of Health indicates that the cost to the taxpayer for each smoker who quits at four weeks is about £200, although this excludes the cost of nicotine replacement therapy which is about the same again.
We must stub out this lethal habit by Jack McConnell 11 Nov - still some national habits that hold us back. Poor diet, excessive drinking, lack of exercise and drug abuse all contribute to making us one of the unhealthiest nations in Europe......................... etc.....etc.........etc
Criminals can smoke while smokers become criminals 11 Nov - These moves represent a significant escalation in the attacks on smokers
£100 fixed fines for smokers 11 Nov - "A comprehensive ban will be a clear signal that Scotland has changed. It will reduce smoking, save lives and help transform our national health. It will be easier to enforce and simpler to understand than other options that would fall short of that." - Jack McConnell
MSP owns up over fly puff at no-smoking Holyrood 12 Nov - Lib Dem MSP Jeremy Purvis was spotted smoking a cigar in the no-smoking MSP block
Poorest areas of Glasgow have highest spending on cigarettes - 12 Nov
English will pay for Scots ban on public smoking 12 Nov - "Working class communities already feel a sense of social exclusion and this should not further exclude them" - DUNCAN MCNEIL, MSP GREENOCK .......... A Labour MSP warned yesterday that the smoking ban was too weak. Duncan McNeil, ......
Punch says smoking ban effect 'negligible' 12 Nov - PUNCH Taverns, ....... said it felt the countrywide ban on smoking in pubs, clubs and restaurants from March 2006 would only have a negligible impact on it. ............"Most of our pubs are community pubs. They are not small high street outlets with limited space.
Wallace denies effect of smoking ban on trade 13 Nov - He said evidence from New York did not back up the "more pessimistic" claims about the effect on trade
Your favourite tipple is about to come with a health warning 13 Nov- CIGARETTE packet-style health warnings on bottles and cans of beer were unveiled yesterday as part of the campaign to crack down on binge drinking.
Why stop at a ban on public smoking? 14 Nov - Take cars: 3,000 Scots are killed annually in road accidents, while exhaust fumes worsen the condition of our 400,000 asthma sufferers. ................. alcohol and fatty food? ......... a complete ban on king-size chocolate bars; the prohibition of smoked goods, such as Arbroath smokies; outlawing chip shops, or at the very least a fish supper exclusion zone around schools........failed to extend his all-or-nothing doctrine in other policy areas, including, as we reveal today, the proposed new Sexual Health Strategy for schools........ McConnell has come over all pragmatic at the first hint of trouble from the moral minority. If only he’d shown the same lack of dogma when he decided to tackle Scotland’s smoking problem
Smoke gets in Jack's eyes 14 Nov - MARGARET Brogan, seated in the saloon of Doolan’s Bar in Cobh, Co Cork, which she runs along with her husband, Danny, has little to do. Save for a single customer propping up the bar, the pub she runs in the west coast town - best known as the last embarkation point for the Titanic on its first and final voyage - is empty, just as it was the night before.......... What about the claims that the ban has actually boosted business - that it has brought out non-smokers to the pubs for the first time? "Crap," says Brogant .......... he national spokesman for the Royal British Legion Scotland, said that the reaction to the ban had been one of outrage. It would also, he warned, force many of the clubs to the wall. "This is going to cause extreme annoyance amongst the members. They are of the age that they don’t take kindly to government interference," he said ,........ If the ban encroaches into forcing no smoking throughout prisons then it will lead to unrest undoubtedly ............... They laid it on so thick that there was no conceivable way that anyone could have come away thinking that a full ban wasn’t a bad idea," said one source.
Smoking ban to 'benefit' pub trade 14 Nov - The survey from KPMG and YouGov found that regular pub-goers are unlikely to be discouraged from going to their favourite haunts as a result of any ban. .... Sixty-five percent of them are in favour of a smoking ban and 29% believe they would visit pubs more often if a ban was introduced." ....... around a quarter of the people surveyed claimed they never visit pubs, yet 40% of that same group would be more inclined to visit if a ban was in place.
England set to reject calls for Scotland-style smoking ban 15 Nov John Reid, the Health Secretary, will set out a white paper expected to suggest that a licensing system is the harshest tool he would use.
Smoking ban stops short in England 16 Nov - will fall short of the all-out ban in Scotland, UK ministers confirmed today......... In England, all medical staff will be banned from smoking on NHS premises by 2006
Arguments can disappear like puff of smoke 16 Nov - Fulminating while fumigating anyone in their path, we can expect a fug of moral outrage as they stomp off to defend the "civil rights" of individuals to smoke their heads off in public places. ...... What greater good could there be than not only increasing the life expectancy of the individual smoker, but all those who have to share a room with him?
England to ban smoking where food is served 16 Nov - THE government is today expected to announce plans for a ban on smoking in all workplaces and anywhere serving food in England and Wales............ Deborah Arnott, director of Action on Smoking and Health, called for a free parliamentary vote on a ban on smoking in all public spaces.
Consultation shows most Scots want curbs on second-hand smoke 17 Nov - A total of 82 per cent of respondents to the Executive exercise thought action was needed and only 13 per cent thought none was necessary.
Smoking ban 'puts 2000 jobs at risk' 17 Nov - The figures came in research commissioned by accountants BDO Stoy Hayward for a UK-wide "impact study" on the effects of a smoking ban. It estimates the ban could cost the trade 1800 Scots jobsI ...... n England and Wales, where Westminster is proposing a smoking ban in pubs that serve food, the study claims the licensed trade industry could see 32,000 jobs lost, a 7.6 per cent drop in customer numbers, and a £230m fall in profits.
English ban on smoking is 'ridiculous bodge' 17 Nov - The government is keen to avoid allegations that it is championing a "nanny state" and interfering too much in people’s lives. ...Andrew Lansman, the Tory health spokesman, ridiculed the policy as a "Carole Caplin approach" in a dig at the former personal assistant to Cherie Blair, the Prime Minister’s wife. ... Deborah Arnott, the director of Action on Smoking and Health, said Mr Reid had made a "ridiculous bodge"....... The British Medical Association said it was concerned that loopholes in the planned law would allow many more pubs to permit smoking.......... Mr Reid said he believed the government had reached a balance between protecting public health and protecting personal freedoms. This view was later echoed by the Prime Minister’s spokesman.
Smoke fills staff rooms 18 Nov - There remains however one very notable exception among our public buildings: the Scottish Parliament has a smoking room for its staff.
Tories claim just one in six support smoke ban 18 Nov - Conservative MSP Brian Monteith, accused the Executive of riding roughshod over public opinion. ...... A study by a UK accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward found that customer numbers could fall by 6.3 per cent, with profits slumping by more than £13 million
Move to extinguish MSPs' smoking room 18 Nov - Liberal Democrat Mike Rumbles has won cross-party support for his motion calling for a complete ban on smoking in the parliament complex.
Smoking death toll put at five million 24 Nov - More than half the deaths were in smokers aged 30 to 69, say researchers at Harvard University and the University of Queensland
Gene defect 'increases risk' of nicotine addiction 24 Nov - GENETIC defect which slows down the liver’s capacity to clear nicotine from the body increases the chances of tobacco addiction
Pub boss ready to breathe easy with smoke ban 30 Nov - as someone who has suffered from asthma for 50 years, Mr Gillies said he did not want to work in an "ashtray".
Belhaven chief warns of threat to local pubs from smoking ban 30 Nov - STUART Ross, the chief executive of Belhaven, yesterday warned that the forthcoming smoking ban will drive a swathe of smaller establishments out of business, depriving many communities of their local pub and causing widespread job losses........... pubs in the deprived communities with older clientele. Here you have a higher prevalence of tobacco smoking and older people will be reluctant to change their habits. In this sector there will be a thinning out of pubs."
Bulgarian ban 4 Dec - THE Bulgarian government yesterday announced plans to ban smoking in most public places from 1 January, 2005.
Test reveals truth about smoke cheats 5 Nov - Scientists at the University of Birmingham have invented a simple urine test, because many patients tell doctors they have quit the habit, or do not smoke as much as they actually do.
NZ smoking ban comes into force 8 Dec -
More may die in fires after smoking ban, ministers told 8 Dec - Irish government minister said yesterday that early indications suggested an alarming increase in the number of domestic fire deaths caused by cigarettes since the smoking ban in public places was introduced eight months ago.......... Scottish Licensed Trade Association spokesman ---"The blanket ban on pubs is ostensibly being introduced to protect the public and workers from passive smoking. If such a danger exists, then children will be at even greater risk in some homes." ......... spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "We have seen no evidence to suggest that restrictions on smoking in public places will lead to an increase in people smoking in the home and as a result, any increased risk
Jobs go up in smoke as Imperial wields axe 10 Dec - added that the closure was not related to the ban on smoking in public places that was introduced in Ireland earlier this year.
We need more time gentlemen, please 12 Dec - "It is bad legislation," the incoming chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pubs Association said. "The 15 months [we have been given] is not enough.
Most Scots 'are against ban' on smoking in pubs 13 Dec - Just over a third of the 1026 people interviewed (37 per cent) for the survey did not support any new law to make enclosed public places smoke free. Even among the 557 (54 per cent) respondents who expressed support for a smoking ban, more than half (57 per cent) said this should not apply to pubs while 21 per cent said clubs should be exempt. ......... smoking rates in New York fell by two per cent within a year of a ban being introduced and in Ireland, 7,000 people are thought to have quit in the first six months of their ban.
Just 13% in favour - but all-out ban on smoking goes ahead 14 Dec - "A majority of Scots want some action on smoking, but only a small minority back Jack’s ban. All parties in the parliament want to see a reduction in tobacco consumption, but rushing through this legislation is not the answer" - David Davidson, Scottish Conservative Party health spokesman
Health fears as fake cigarettes flood city 15 Dec -
Scottish Executive to air smoke ban 16 Dec - THE Scottish Executive is to fund a series of town hall debates throughout Scotland to discuss its controversial smoking ban plan.
All bars to face total smoke ban 17 Dec - legal storm as it revealed exactly how far-reaching its smoking ban will be. Offices and private clubs have been included in the first official definition of "enclosed premises" where the ban will apply. ........ Mr Kerr also announced around £1 million will be given to councils to allow them to recruit more environmental health officers to enforce the ban.
Ban on cigarettes is harder to take in some pubs than others 18 Dec - Wilkie’s Bar ... male-dominated clientèle are also puffing away on cigarettes, but the landlord heartily approves. ..."Traditional customers who want to have a smoke. For me, part of the attraction of a pub is the smell of cigarette smoke. ... "But what is more important is personal freedom - and that has been eroded."
Kerr takes hard line as smoking ban unveiled 18 Dec - managers of any premises who fail to enforce the ban face fines of up to £2,500 and pub and restaurant owners could lose their licence to sell alcohol. Fines of up to £1,000 could also be imposed where no-smoking signs are not displayed........... Individuals persistently found smoking in enclosed public areas will be hit by fines of up to £1,000 ...... Tim Lord, the chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association,.. "an extraordinary slap in the face" for the majority of Scots who opposed a total ban. ...... "The Executive’s refusal to listen to what the Scottish public wants should alarm everybody who wants to see more choice of non-smoking facilities, but not an all-out ban,"..... FOREST called the bill "illiberal and heavy-handed", and said there was no public demand for it......... Dr Mac Armstrong..........said the ban could stop the premature death of at least 400 to 500 non-smokers annually .... Professor David Hole said as many as 2,000 deaths in Scotland each year could be related to passive smoking among non-smokers ......... Alex Markham, the Cancer Research UK chief executive,Most of what is said to oppose this bill has no basis in fact - from unreliable claims about being a danger to pub trade to entirely groundless suggestions trying to deny that second-hand smoke kills." .........Prof Neil Douglas, the president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said: "This bill has the potential to provide us with perhaps the single most important public health measure of our lifetimes
Don't quit habit on New Year's Day 19 Dec - Research by smoking advisers has shown that people who quit smoking on the landmark day have less chance of giving up for good than by stubbing out cigarettes for good on another day.
Vendors demand £30m over smoke ban 19 Dec - Scottish Executive has ruled out any prospect of compensation, .... A source close to First Minister Jack McConnell said: ....... that the licensed trade was fighting a losing battle by opposing the ban. ... "There is a massive weight of public support behind the legislation. "
Doctors' fears over cigarette ads blitz 21 Dec - LEADING doctors claim tough new measures to restrict the advertising of cigarettes in shops, pubs, and clubs, will make little or no difference.
Blair faces probe over free holiday 27 Dec - faces a probe by Parliament’s "sleaze" watchdog over his holiday with a tobacco chief.
Ex-smokers run up tab costing £69m 30 Dec - wasting around £69 million a year by not updating their life insurance policies to reflect their new non-smoking status
Law may prompt 23,000 Scots to give up the weed in the new year 30 Dec - About 17,000 of Scotland’s 1.2 million smokers give up the habit every year, but this figure is expected to soar by 35 per cent....... Iain Brotchie, the communications officer for ASH, said: "If smokers are going to quit, then the New Year is as good a time as any to start."
You'll thank us for ban on smoking, says McConnell 30 Dec - Despite a positive response from medical experts, cancer charities and the nursing profession, there has been an angry reaction from the licensed trade and the tobacco lobby, who have warned that a complete ban will damage business.. ......... attacked by David McLetchie, the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. "Given the fact that Mr McConnell is attempting to railroad through an outright total ban against the wishes of the vast majority of Scots ........... goes to demonstrate that this is a personal crusade come what may,"
Pub nights out will go up in smoke 30 Dec - There’s a new gag in Ireland that so many smokers now clutter up the pavements outside of the city’s pubs that if you want to have a breath of fresh air you have to go inside.............. pub regulars could find themselves without their local, never mind on the pavement,

2005
'Save our pubs' campaign to persuade MSPs 2 Jan - Scottish Licensed Trade Association has announced it will hold a seminar next week in an attempt to persuade MSPs not to support the bill
Smoking 'hits intelligence' 5 Jan - Exposure to tobacco smoke in the home was blamed yesterday for youngsters achieving lower scores in tests of reading and mathematics
Publicans demand smoke ban 'surgeries' 9 Jan - SCOTTISH pub owners are challenging MPs and MSPs to visit their local bars so they can explain the controversial smoking ban proposals to regulars......... politicians are not listening to what the trade is saying so perhaps they will listen to the customers."
Italy stubs out as smoking ban dawns 10 Jan - The law, described as one of the toughest in Europe, bans smoking on public transport and in hospitals, cinemas and schools.
Group recruits champion for Scots smokers 11 Jan - Neil Rafferty, a media consultant and 15-a-day smoker, has been hired to combat moves to outlaw smoking in enclosed public spaces.......... FOREST, which receives most of its funds from the tobacco industry, said: "This appointment gives our campaign new impetus in Scotland.
Ex-Holyrood chief in charge of smoke ban 11 Jan - Ms Davidson, who has a postgraduate degree in Italian Renaissance art from Oxford University,
City to recruit smoke ban hit squad 12 Jan - 40 "smokebuster" wardens is set to be recruited in the Capital to police the ban ........ could cost the city more than £500,000 a year.,................ Health officials claim the ban will save the lives of more than 400 Scots who die each year from the effects of passive smoking.
Most say drinkers should be able to smoke 13 Jan - TWO thirds of Scots believe pubs and clubs should be able to accommodate smokers in separate areas when a smoking ban is introduced next spring ......... Health minister Andy Kerr said: "We are not running Government by opinion poll.
Doctors hit out at pub claims over smoking 14 Jan - British Medical Association today condemned claims made by the pub trade that ventilation in bars could protect the public from the effects of passive smoking
Holyrood politicians give debate on smoking ban cold shoulder 16 Jan - only one Holyrood member turned up for a debate on the proposals being held in a hotel right next door to the parliament........... Tory Brian Monteith was the only MSP there ...... Paul Waterson, said: "I am disappointed that the Executive continues to ignore the voice of the people and research findings into ventilation"
Wetherspoons makes all pubs smoke free 24 Jan - Wetherspoon approach of a complete ban after a period of notice is the right one." ........ Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: "We welcome the announcement. .......... Ash (Action on Smoking and Health) welcomed the announcement as a "significant development
City stubs out parks smoking 26 Jan - SAN Francisco has become the first major American city to ban smoking in all public parks
Nicotine patches on the NHS for pupils 30 Jan - Children as young as 14 will be targeted under the £180,000 Lottery-funded scheme... But Professor Ian Stolerman, a nicotine expert from the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London, warned ...Laboratory studies suggest nicotine replacement therapy poses a much greater risk for children than for adults,
Smoke gets up nation's nose 1 Feb - 26 per cent said smoke was the stink most likely to get up their noses.
Blanket smoking ban for council staff 2 Feb -
No freedom to choose 5 Feb - would have a significant impact on the licensed trade, and now independent research suggests that this impact will be greater than first feared........... Scottish Licensed Trade Association, predicts that 2300 jobs and 150 pubs will close; turnover is also expected to fall by £105 million, and profits to drop by £86m ... many adults still choose to smoke regardless of the risks
The price to pay for smoking ban in pubs 5 Feb - research released by the Executive at the time the Bill was published claimed the effect of the smoking ban on the hospitality trade could be anything from a loss of £104m a year to a gain of £137m a year.......... "Ireland has already lost 7500 jobs since their ban was introduced in March 2004 - and that’s government figures."
Smoking ban will cost 2,300 jobs and 140 pubs, report claims - 6 Feb - AS ABOVE
Smoking ban litter threat 7 Feb - survey commissioned by the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment found cigarette debris was the second highest cause of litter after chewing gum. Director Jane Bickerstaffe said: "Businesses and local authorities need to act now to put ashtrays in place, to ensure the groups of smokers huddled outside offices and bars do not become an even bigger litter problem."
Cuba stubs out smoking in public 8 Feb - CUBA banned smoking in public places yesterday, a bold move in a country synonymous with fine tobacco where more than half of adults smoke.
Report shows benefits of smoke ban 8 Feb - British Medical Association’s report - Smoke-free World - the Californian Medical Association said that lung cancer rates had fallen six times faster than in US states without smoke-free laws since 1998............ Irish Medical Association said that cigarette sales fell by almost 16 per cent in the first six months
Theatres will look back in anger at ban on smoking 9 Feb - Look Back in Anger at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh tonight, Cliff will light up a cigarette to counter the wafts of smoke drifting from Jimmy’s pipe ........ban threatens to change future productions of the play for ever.
Clear majority in city support smoking ban 10 Feb - research, commissioned by the city council, also suggested opposition to the Executive’s proposals may be softening ........... Overall, 58 per cent of people in the Capital support the Executive’s plans, according to the city-wide opinion poll of 1031 residents conducted by Mori Scotland on behalf of the local authority.
Bond escapes campaigners to smoke another day 10 Feb - Quite a high percentage felt quite strongly we shouldn't prohibit smoking in films because it would be unrealistic. ....... public are broadly happy with the guidelines issued in 2000 and as a consequence the 2005 guidelines contain no major changes.
Pub police to smoke out law breakers 13 Feb - powers to search bars and pubs to check whether staff are abiding by the new laws which will crack down on bad behaviour by customers............... free rein to charge pubs if they are found to be flaunting drinking laws ......... cost of alcohol-related problems in Scotland came to £1bn a year.
New tsar set to stub out the habit 23 Feb - East Lothian ... Jan Copleton has been appointed to the post of smoking cessation development officer to work with organisations including, schools, community groups, health care professionals and employers.
McLaren stub out cigarettes 23 Feb - THE McLaren Formula 1 team have announced a long-term sponsorship deal with Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker, bringing to an end their long association with tobacco.
Smoking ban in Ireland 'has cost pubs £80m' 23 Feb - A BAN on public smoking in Ireland cost pubs £80 million in seven months and cut bar sales by 7.3 per cent, a leading think tank says. The study, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, was commissioned by campaigners against plans for a ban in Scotland.
Patients will be forced to stub out at home when doctor calls 23 Feb - tough approach is part of a strategy adopted by NHS Greater Glasgow . ....
patients, many of whom are seriously ill, being allowed or even helped to the exits of hospitals for a cigarette during their stay. ......... would be given "appropriate medication" such as nicotine patches.
Smoke-filled clubs add up to really dirty dancing 24 Feb - FOUR hours’ dancing in a nightclub exposes a person to as much second-hand smoke as somebody living with a smoker for a month, researchers have found. - published in the journal Tobacco Control, an international publication on the nature and consequences of smoking - suggested that policies of having smoking and non-smoking areas were not completely effective. ......... smoking bill is due to go before the Scottish Parliament next year
Smoke ban 'is worst threat to pubs' 24 Feb - "Staff are worried about their jobs, the licensees are worried about their turnover and customers are amazed by this present government who are not prepared to listen to the people."The pub is one of the few places where smoking should be allowed. I’m always very surprised when politicians turn into health experts. They think all pubs, even pubs in poorer areas of Scotland will be able to sell coffees and lattes instead of pies and pints."
Smoking tobacco 'may ease' some schizophrenia symptoms 1 Mar - If there is any beneficial effect of nicotine, it may be restricted to mildly dependent smokers, and particularly to those on low dosages of typical anti-psychotics.
BAT chief attacks smoking ban 2 Mar - calling the move "unnecessary" and in defiance of natural market forces ............ "more sensible solutions" that could accommodate smokers, such as ventilation, segregation and simply allowing pubs to make their own decisions.
Cigarette maker admits 8% fall in Irish sales since smoking ban 3 Mar - would be greater in Ireland than in other markets, as "Irish people go to pubs more than people in other countries". ............. profits were up from £379 million to £429m.
Smoking 'killed 6.3 million in last 50 years' 5 Mar - study, funded by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, was conducted by Sir Richard Peto, professor of medical statistics at Oxford University.
Smoke ban 'wrong' but pubs thrive 5 Mar - Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) said the Wetherspoon trial was working because customers had a choice rather than a "dictatorially imposed ban". ........... The group wants all 652 of its pubs smoke-free by May 2006.
Pubs' income rises after smoking ban 5 Mar - three of its new non-smoking premises has risen. ..... The director of the smokers’ lobby group FOREST "We would expect Wetherspoon to benefit in the short-term but it’s far too early to say if these pubs will still be a success, say, next year." ........ Maureen Moore, chief executive of the anti-smoking group ASH Scotland, said: "Our opposition to smoking is for health rather than economic reasons. "But the Wetherspoon figures explode the myth that no-smoking pubs fail and shows that, like others from Canada to New Zealand to Ireland, they are a success."
Stick at giving up .. it's well worth it 5 Mar - misery smokers, and their families, endure due to illness was brought home to me very powerfully ........ success rates for people quitting are good ......... nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or lozenges, or drugs such as Zyban, to help take away the urge to smoke ......... lure of a good night out will hopefully be a lot stronger than the alternative of sitting at home with just the TV and a pack of 20.
Smoking slowly burning out in UK 7 Mar - ANTI-SMOKING campaigners are slowly winning their battle, a report claimed today.
Smokers to be pariahs by 2050 7 Mar - AS ABOVE -SMOKING cigarettes in Scotland will be seen as a vice on a par with using illegal drugs and alcoholism by 2050, with just 9 per cent of the population indulging the habit, claims a new report by the Future Foundation think tank.
Kick habit with crew 8 Mar - Nicorette’s Cravings Control Crew will be at the Gyle Shopping Centre today and tomorrow.
Smoking ban might stop many starting by VITTAL KATIKIREDDI = 8 Mar - British Medical Journal has shown that passive smoking is even more dangerous than we used to think, killing an astounding 11,000 people in the UK each year.................. The legislation coming in Scotland and much needed in England could prevent others like her from ending up in the same situation or far worse. Vittal Katikireddi is a junior hospital doctor
Smoking while pregnant linked to cancer 9 Mar - SMOKING while pregnant may cause chromosomal abnormalities in an unborn baby that can lead to cancer, new research suggests today.
Tobacco clinics an intrusion 9 Mar - and today on National No Smoking Day, smokers will be bombarded with advice. ....... Executive wants to set up smoking cessation clinics in pubs and bingo halls in a fresh bid to persuade people to quit. - THEY COUL:D HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE
Quit-smoking clinics set to do the rounds 9 Mar - into the smoker’s traditional habitat - pubs and bingo halls............. Health boards across the country will receive an extra £6 million to set up the smoking cessation clinics ................. Mr McConnell said: "Taking the decision to stop smoking can often be a hard one and taking the first step often the most difficult part. Having services out in the community at places where people live and work will make that step easier." ........ a target of a two per cent reduction in the number of smokers in Scotland by 2010. That means persuading around 65,000 of the 1.1 million people who currently smoke to give up in the next five years. A total of £7m has been allocated to smoking cessation in 2005-06, which will now rise to £9m in 2006-07 and £11m in 2007-08...................Sally Haw, senior public health adviser on substance misuse at Health Scotland, said: "Seven out of ten smokers in Scotland want to quit and research shows the greatest chance of staying stopped involves using nicotine replacement therapy combined with the support of your local smoking cessation services
McConnell: smokers' number is up 10 Mar - Mr McConnell pledged to spend £2 million on marketing Scotland as a "smoke-free country"........ little support at the Carlton Bingo Club, Partick, Glasgow. An estimated 72 per cent of bingo players smoke, and Frances Daly, 48, said: "If I can’t smoke, I won’t come. If I want to stop smoking I’ll get help. I don’t need Big Brother outside." ...........Carlton Bingo Club, said: "We average 200 a session and if almost 100 come and go to smoke, it’ll be chaos." ................Paul Waterson, the chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said "This is what the Executive should be doing instead of introducing a ban 80 per cent of people don’t want ........But Maureen Moore, the chief executive of ASH, said: "Extra funding means support. Thirteen thousand Scots a year die from smoking diseases
Smoking ban 'will save Scotland £4bn' 10 Mar - commissioned by the Executive from Aberdeen University, ......hospitality sector would lose £28m from a total ban, but the only other significant costs would be £49m for enforcement. ............ exempting pubs, clubs and hotels from the ban would have reduced the financial benefit dramatically to £2.5bn ........... a voluntary approach - including a ban on smoking while food is being served and a gradual increase in smoke-free areas - would have benefited the economy by just £315 million............ total ban would benefit the economy by £2.3 billion in lives saved and a further £1.9bn in productivity gains, reduced sickness absences, savings on NHS treatment and reduced cleaning and decorating costs.
Tobacco firm to pay £140,000 damages 11 Mar - to the family of a smoker who died from lung cancer ....... first of its kind in Europe
Prisoners to have choice of smoking in their cells 11 Mar - Tory spokesman said: "The only people who are going to be given a real choice in Jack McConnell’s Scotland are the ones who break the law and end up in prison. ...........Executive spokesman conceded that police stations would remain one of the few public places to allow smoking, but insisted this had been done to help police officers during interrogations.
Plea to make fags 'firesafe' 14 Mar - Andy Gilchrist has written to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott with figures showing 582 people died in house fires caused by smouldering cigarettes between 1999 and 2003.
40p smoke fine15 Mar - BANGLADESH has become the latest country to ban smoking in public areas.
Publicans tell health experts to 'stick to what they know' 15 Mar - Mr Waterson declared: "Mac Armstrong and the other health people should stick to what they know. "They should not be telling us what we can do in our pubs and what we can’t do ..... Dr Armstrong immediately hit back "Up to 2,000 lives could be saved every year by ending smoking in enclosed public places. And let’s not forget the substantial knock-on effect which will see fewer people smoking and people smoking less.
Smoke ban threat to Labour poll campaign 28 Mar - One party source said: "A lot of local Labour campaigns will be run from miners’ welfare clubs and Labour clubs, which will by and large be against the ban............ But south of the Border, Health Secretary John Reid is proposing a ban only where food is served. .......... one debate on the smoking Bill - to agree the principle of the ban - is scheduled for Thursday, April 28, a week before the expected day of the election on May 5.
Peer pressure to teach drug perils 29 Mar - PUPILS in city schools are being trained as "peer educators" to teach schoolmates about the dangers of drugs and smoking
Tobacco giant is hit with fine in legal row 29 Mar - a six-figure fine for failing to follow a court order in the United States
Smoking devastates chances of birth after IVF course 7 April - found smoking adds the equivalent of ten years to the reproductive age of some 20-year-old women. While women who smoke are also more likely to have miscarriages.
One jazz club that is happy to be no smokin' 9 Apr - Henry’s Jazz Cellar looks set to be changed forever, as the club prepares to impose a smoking ban. ..... during its early evening concerts ................Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: "We welcome any initiative to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke because it is a great health risk in both the short and long term. ......... Mike Unger, of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,... said a partial ban may still leave musicians at risk of lung cancer. ......... , it’s a bit pointless because cancerous particles linger around afterwards."
Give patients smoking rooms, says doctor 10 Apr -A GLASGOW GP has called for patients in the city’s hospitals to be allowed smoking rooms, claiming it is "patently cruel" to force invalids to go outside for a cigarette. Dr Colin Guthrie............(FOREST), said: "At last some sense on this issue. ....... Providing a smoking area for patients, not to mention the stressed-out staff, is a sympathetic and civilised solution."
Women who smoke may pass asthma risk to grandchildren 12 apr - Children whose grandmothers smoked while pregnant were more than twice as likely to become asthmatic as those whose grandmothers did not.
Smoking link to old-age blindness 14 Apr - doubles the risk of an eye condition that afflicts elderly people and is the most common cause of blindness in Britain
Warning of difficulties in enforcing pub smoke ban 21 Apr - MSPs warned in a report today............ called for changes to the proposed legislation to shift primary responsibility for enforcement to those in charge of premises where the ban applied......... committee did voice some sympathy with the argument of opponents that the ban could result in increased smoking at home, putting children’s health at risk.
Publicans in frontline to enforce smoking ban 22 Apr - AS ABOVE
Doctors attack 'myths' of smoking ban 28 Apr - The report, Behind the Smokescreen, said critics have claimed a ban would be an infringement of freedom, but under the current system, non-smokers - 70 per cent of the population - were denied the freedom to go about their lives in smoke-free environments.... Ian Wilmore, public affairs manager of anti-smoking group Ash, "It is a conflict of rights. The most overwhelming right lies with the non-smoker."
Smoking ban set to become law as MSPs vote for bill 29 Apr - MSPs voted by 83 to 15 in favour of an all-out smoking ban, with only the Tories opposing the move. ...... Mr Kerr said the ban would reverse the tragic consequences of illness and disease caused by tobacco smoke. "Smoking kills and debilitates, and is a major factor in health inequalities," he said. "On average, smokers can expect to live 16 years less than non-smokers. Thirty-five people a day die before their time because of smoking- related illness - a 35-a-day habit we’ve got to kick."
Kosovo prepares to kick the habit 1 May - a draft smoking restriction law is sitting with the province’s Ministry of Health
NHS smoking stubbed out by January 2 May - ALL NHS Lothian property is set to become smoke-free by January after a new policy was agreed.
Underage tobacco sales blitz 3 May - TEENAGE volunteers are being recruited for a Lothian-wide clampdown on the sale of tobacco to under-age youngsters.
Smokeless pub boss praised 4 May - the first in Scotland to go smoke-free was hailed at a reception by First Minister Jack McConnell.
Cigar sellers argue for a smoking ban exemption 8 May - "It is essential for the conduct of their business that these outlets, their consenting staff and customers on the premises should be able to taste products in order to assess their quality and flavour." ..........Scottish Executive said: "Those premises would be caught by the legislation because they are places of employment.
Call to put up cigarette prices 13 May - CIGARETTE prices should be raised by 50 per cent a year to put people off, a medical journal said today
Stroll 'helps smokers quit' 13 May - GOING for a walk could help smokers break the habit, scientists claimed today.
Ikea launches plan to stub out smokers 13 May - Edinburgh’s Ikea store are bringing in a hypnotherapist to help staff stop smoking ..... Customers will not be allowed to smoke in the store from May 16 while staff will see the no-smoking signs go up from the end of the month.
Jab to help smokers give up on the market 'in five years' 14 May - Swiss scientists are understood to have carried out a successful trial of the new treatment on 300 heavy smokers........... Deborah Arnott, "A vaccine is going to be a major step forward for treating not just nicotine addiction, but also diseases that come with it like cancers and lung and heart disease." But she warned: "We still have to worry about stopping people from becoming addicted to smoking in the first place."
Hopes for vaccine to stub out nicotine addiction 15 May - AS ABOVE
Mother's 20-a-day habit gave son lungs of a pensioner 19 May - She admitted the problem was made worse because her two sisters, brother, mother and father all smoke heavily. ...........Ian Willmore, from Action on Smoking and Health, said: "There is extensive evidence of the dangers of passive smoking to both adults and children. Children’s lungs are still developing and therefore are more vulnerable to the fumes. "Just because you smoke in a different room of the house, doesn’t mean harm isn’t being done. Closing the door won’t work."
Call for pubs to be allowed 'smoking licences' 25 May - INDEPENDENT Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald has tabled an amendment to the proposed smoking ban, suggesting pubs should be able to apply for smoking licencesThe total ban on smoking would have huge repercussions on a lot of people’s livelihoods, never mind their individual liberties........... Andy Kerr said the Scottish Executive would resist the amendment.
Passive smoke halves chance of pregnancy 26 May - Non-smokers achieved about 48 per cent pregnancy rates per embryo transfer, smokers around 19 per cent and the side-stream smokers 20 per cent.
The iron landlady who's not for turning 27 May - Port O’Leith landlady and 20-a-day smoker Mary Moriarty says she will refuse to pay fines and is prepared to be locked up in defiance of the proposed legislation ....... Scotland would be £4.2 billion better off ........... Maureen Moore, chief executive of Ash Scotland, said: "People will have to abide by it, it is not for people to pick and choose which laws they obey."
Hastings kicks off smoke-free campaign 31 May - FORMER Scottish rugby captain Gavin Hastings was among the stars launching a campaign for a smoke-free Scotland today
US cigarette giants 'played on desire to lose weight' 31 May -

researchers stated: "These studies demonstrate that marketing strategies, especially for female brands, have contributed to the association of smoking with glamour, success and thinness."
Widow fails in £500,000 battle with tobacco firm 31 May - Court of Session in Edinburgh threw out Margaret McTear's landmark claim for £500,000 damages and cleared Imperial Tobacco of responsibility for her husband Alfred's lung cancer
Physicians' president slams smoking ruling 1 Jun - PROFESSOR Neil Douglas, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, today criticised a court ruling in favour of an international tobacco firm.
Smokers should shoulder the blame for their own misfortune 1 Jun - Think of the misery that would have saved thousands of people, the latest being Mrs Margaret McTear - a dozen years of misery and tension; end result, the prospect of more misery and a massive legal bill.
Tobacco giant breathes easy as widow's case fails 1 Jun - Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco control, said they were very disappointed by the judgment.........
Smokers butt of new leaflet 3 June - NHS Lothian has joined Edinburgh's Fast Forward Positive Lifestyles initiative to fund Smelly Butts - a leaflet aimed at encouraging young people to help their peers stop smoking
Anti-smoking links weakened tobacco claim case, says judge 5 Jun - But in a damning criticism of the lawyers who acted for the 60-year-old, Lord Nimmo Smith said key witnesses' links with anti-smoking groups damaged her legal action's chances of success. - In comments buried deep in Lord Nimmo Smith's 514-page judgment, he stressed that expert witnesses had to be independent and that evidence given in McTear's case had been unsound. "All the expert witnesses for the pursuer [McTear] were or had been connected in some way with ASH [the anti-smoking group] and were clearly committed to the anti-smoking cause; and no doubt for this reason were prepared to give evidence gratis. By contrast, all the expert witnesses for Imperial Tobacco charged fees for their services."
Brewer unfazed by pub ban 7 May - over to Ireland to study that country's pub smoking ban last December, when they looked at 200 pubs in cities, towns and rural areas. "The most telling comment was that, to almost a man, the pubs [managers] said if they got the chance to reverse the ban they would not want to take it."
Pubs facing sacrifice on altar of health 7 Jun - About two-thirds of Scots are against an outright ban. Most of us want to see more non-smoking places, while retaining some choice for smokers. Big city-centre bars will be able to cushion the blow by attracting some new custom and boosting their food sales. Smaller neighbourhood pubs, on the other hand, risk losing more than the whiff of tobacco
Majority 'says no to outright smoking ban' 8 Jun - A survey by Populus, carried out for the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association (TMA), found people supported separate smoking rooms in workplaces and pubs to accommodate smokers .... 84 per cent agreed that smokers should be allowed to smoke provided they did not inconvenience others . .. (Ash) condemned the latest Populus survey and said the majority of the public were in favour of a widespread smoking ban ...... Ian Willmore, of Ash, said: "So dishonest is the tobacco lobby that it cannot even bear to commission a poll which asks the public a straight question. BUT at least their's is accurate!
Helpline swamped by smokers trying to quit ahead of ban 12 Jun -
New figures from Smokeline show a 53% increase in callers in the 12 months from March 2004 - up from 41,500 to 63,000 ..... surge in would-be quitters has come despite no major increase in government advertising aimed at persuading smokers to stop. Maureen Moore,said: "The first aim of the ban is to protect the health of staff in public places. But it also has the result of helping people stop by taking away the "trigger points" that encourage people to smoke." .......... Forest said "The reality is that this is a law aimed at forcing people to change their behaviour, which is not what government should be about. "
MSPs set to raise legal age for buying cigarettes to 18 13 Jun- Duncan McNeil, a Labour MSP, has tabled an amendment to the bill banning smoking in public places which would make it illegal for shops to sell tobacco to anybody under the age of 18
Obese smokers can age by ten years14 Jun - OBESITY can speed up the ageing process as much as heavy smoking,
MSP bids for smoking ban get-out clause14 Jun - let pubs and other licensed premises with modern ventilation systems escape the tough new curbs on lighting up in public ........... . another by Mr Monteith which would allow smoking on theatre stages, to protect what he described as "a
MSPs vote to back ban on under-18 cigarette sales 15 Jun - Despite opposition from the Liberal Democrats, Holyrood's health committee backed Labour back-bencher Duncan McNeil's amendment to raise the minimum legal age ...... Brian Monteith withdrew an amendment to let pubs and other licensed premises that meet strict air- quality standards escape the ban, when it was clear there was little support in the committee.
GNER stubs out smoking 15 Jun - Maureen Moore, said: "We're delighted. It will benefit GNER staff as well as their passengers, providing protection from the carcinogens in second-hand smoke.... People are no longer willing to accept the damage to their health and discomfort posed by second-hand smoke. It's great that people feel able to make their feelings known."
Rail giant bans smoking on east coast main line services16 Jun - Jean King, Cancer Research UK, said: "We are absolutely delighted that GNER has listened to its customers. The company is taking action to protect its staff from the dangers of second-hand smoke, in advance of this becoming a legal requirement."
Parliament is the arena for smoking ban 18 Jun - smoking test case of Margaret McTear ....But as Lord Nimmo Smith pointed out, the hearing before him was not a public inquiry into the issues relating to smoking and health. .. The legislature is not concerned with burdens of proof.
Calls grow for English smoking ban 20 Jun - government yesterday insisted an English ban was not on the agenda, .......... Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer in England, has called for smoking to be "eradicated ... like we eradicated polio".......... Department of Health insisted a consultation paper to be published today as part of the Health Improvement Bill would go no further than these original plans. ........ Patricia Hewitt, the new Health Secretary who replaced former smoker John Reid, was said to be keen to take a tougher line ......... ASH, Deborah Arnott, "Ash is delighted that the government is considering supporting a comprehensive smoking ban without exemption. "This is the courageous and correct approach ......." . Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrats and himself a smoker, also said a ban was inevitable ......... Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said: "The public health white paper makes it clear that the government's position is the worst option and unsustainable
Actors launch last gasp bid to smoke on stage 26 Jun - MSPs opposed to the ban will launch one last bid to keep the weed on the stage this week ........ "How do you do a play with Churchill, for example, without a cigar? ......... Maxwell said that theatres would have to adapt.
Poll says most bar staff oppose a smoking ban 27 Jun - poll for hospitality industry body Atmosphere Improves Results (AIR), 89 per cent of licensees and staff think some smoking should continue to be allowed in pub
Majority of Scots 'back smoking ban' 27 Jun - Executive-commissioned survey shows 56 per cent of people back the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill......... One third of those questioned by Market Research UK said they opposed the ban, while 11 per cent were undecided
Don't blow the smoking Bill now, MSPs are told 30 Jun - Neil Douglas, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said: "Today presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect the people of Scotland from the effects of second-hand smoki
No-one should be exposed to a carcinogen by Maureen Moore 30 Jun - -
Censorship row as smoke ban extends to actors in theatre 30 Jun - Brian Monteith claimed the blanket ban on smoking in public places was more to do with political correctness than public health...... .Stuart Maxwell, .. said Mr Monteith's remarks were "utter nonsense"...... Mr Monteith's bid .. defeated by 93 votes to 13
Scotland's tobacco ban to become law 30 Jun - The ban comes into force from March 26 2006 ... .MSPs voted in favour of the bill, 97 to 17 with one abstention.
Final stub-out for smoking 1 July - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Ads claim smoking is bad for your sex life 1 July - campaign is designed to target young Britons' fears about their sexual attractiveness ... Simon Clark, Forest said: " it shows how desperate the anti-smoking campaign is. "It is almost an attempt to ostracise smokers from normal society."
Historic ban means that many more Scots can breathe easy by PROFESSOR NEIL DOUGLAS 1 July - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
This shows what Holyrood can do when it gets its act together byPETER MACMAHON 1 July - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
MSPs vote 97-17 for smoke ban 1 July - "March 26, 2006, will not just be the first day of summer, it will be the first day of a new future for our country." - JACK MCCONNELL
Minister's smoking ban drive gets thumbs-up 7 July - NHS Lothian has welcomed Health Minister Andy Kerr's announcement of a drive to raise awareness of Scotland's forthcoming ban on smoking
MSP left fuming at Holyrood 'smoking den' plan 8 Jun - Parliament bosses have agreed to spend up to £20,000 on an outdoor shelter ...once the new ban on smoking in enclosed public places comes into effect next spring. .... Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Pringle said ". Historic Scotland need to step in and say they can't do it." .... SUPPORT for smoke-free public places has grown across the United Kingdom, . Office of National Statistics Omnibus Survey found the number of people in the UK favouring a total ban on smoking in pubs has increased from 20 per cent in 2003 to 31 per cent. The figures reflect similar increases in Scotland, where support for smoke-free public places is already running at 56 per cent ahead of next year's smoking ban.
Pub smoking balcony plans facing rejection 10 July - landlords are expected to look for ways round the ban, such as smoking balconies, shelters, and terraces; but add that the problems of noise from drinkers will mean that many applications will be refused......... detrimental to the architectural character of the building
Pubs in Scotland 'will make a packet' 11 July - creating a "potential pool of new custom", according to a poll of 2,350 people in the Morning Advertiser, a pub-trade newspaper. .. quarter of those surveyed said that they would go to pubs and clubs more often when the ban comes into force, as opposed to 16 per cent who would go less regularly. Fifty-six per cent said the ban would make no difference at all, while 3 per cent were as yet uncertain of the impact the ban would have on the pub trade. survey in England, Scotland and Wales, carried out by the market researchers HI Europe, found that 61 per cent were in favour of the ban, with 31 per cent against. ......... Guinness, said last year that the smoking ban in Ireland, which came into force in March 2004, was to blame for a 6 per cent drop in sales of the Irish stout. And last week, the company said smoking bans had led to customers spending less time, and money, in pubs.
Stub-out plates help smokers to keep butts off street 12 July - new website with advice on the smoking ban can be found at www.clearingtheairscotland.com
University just weeks from full smoke ban 24 July - GLASGOW University is to ban smoking in all its buildings, including its student unions,....... Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH said: "The whole idea of the legislation is to protect the workforce and the public, so Glasgow University is to be congratulated for moving that forward. This will help young people quit smoking." Kerr said More than 7,000 people in Ireland stopped smoking in the first month of the Irish ban and tobacco sales have since fallen by 16%.
Lung cancer smoking link scientist dies 25 July - SIR Richard Doll, the British scientist whose research first established the link between smoking and lung cancer, has died aged 92.
Scientist who confirmed smoking link to lung cancer dies 25 July - AS ABOVE
Smoking ban set to come in at breakfast time 26 July - Scottish Conservatives spokesman said: "The Executive is hell-bent on introducing this illiberal and unnecessary measure.
Blair under fire over F1 reprieve on tobacco ads 31 July - securing a delay that will protect F1 teams from the full impact of the embargo for more than a year longer. also brought back memories of Blair's past links with the industries, notably the revelation that the Labour party had accepted a £1m donation from F1 power broker Bernie Ecclestone, who had lobbied Blair to delay the ban. ......... Deborah Arnott, ASH, said: "Yet again, Formula 1 has got its foot in the door of No10."
Tobacco firms' sponsorship of sport stubbed out 1 Aug - The deals were estimated to be worth about £70 million for Formula One in the UK, according to the anti-smoking campaign group ASH.
Outdoor solution to cigarette ban in pubs goes up in smoke 1 Aug - Paul Waterson,---impact of these outdoor areas is a real hidden problem with the smoking ban, and if people in areas like the Grassmarket think they have suffered problems with noise so far, then it's going to get worse when the ban comes in and people have to smoke outside
French MPs air public smoking ban 2 Aug - The bill, which has the backing of about 60 politicians, will be submitted to France's parliament in the autumn.
Hearts ban smoking at Tynecastle 3 Aug - Smokers will still be able to light up in the concourse of the Gorgie, Wheatfield and Roseburn stands,
Scots stub out ahead of ban 4 Aug - Andy Kerr revealed 39,000 people had given up in advance of the smoking ban ..... Scottish Household Survey, is the fifth consecutive decrease in smoking ...... "We know that 70 per cent of Scots who smoke want to give up.
Pub smoke and mirrors has little to do with health 9 Aug - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Scots cricketers hit public smoking for six 12 Aug - SCOTLAND cricketers have taken a stand against tobacco by backing the new legislation that will ban public smoking .... joined other Scots sporting heroes such as rugby player Chris Cusiter, Olympic cyclist Chris Hoy and Commonwealth gold medallist Alison Shepherd. ........Scotland cricket captain Craig Wright
Illegal tobacco 'threat to fifth of small shops' 17 Aug - A FIFTH of corner shops have considered closing because of sales lost due to tobacco smuggling, according to a survey out today
Smoking ban is a breath of fresh air 17 Aug - Christopher Reeve's widow Dana has been diagnosed with lung cancer....... Macmillan Cancer Relief is a strong supporter of the new legislation to ban smoking in public places. ............
Arsonist avoids matches ban 20 Aug - escaped an ASBO because any condition banning her from carrying matches would infringe her human right to smoke
ScotRail to ban smoking from sleeper trains 30 Aug - The move, from 9 October, will end smoking on all UK mainland public transport,
China signs anti-tobacco pact 30 Aug - home to more than 320 million smokers, has ratified an international treaty banning tobacco advertising and will also outlaw tobacco-vending machines, t
Sleeper smoking ban 31 Aug - banned on First ScotRail's sleeper trains to coincide with a £1 million refurbishment
Wetherspoon reveals falling sales in non-smoking pubs 3 Sept - a 7 per cent fall in like-for-like sales at the 36 non-smoking pubs it had by the end of August.
Smokers facing 'fag break' ban 4 Sept - Highland Council's 12,000 staff - a quarter of whom are estimated to be smokers - have been told traditional "fag breaks" are a thing of the past and lighting up can only be done "outwith their contracted hours". ....... council's Managing Smoking at Work policy also stops staff smoking in or near buildings and grounds during lunch breaks and before and after work............ study by Aberdeen University showed an annual loss to Scottish employers of £235.1m as a result of smokers taking unrestricted cigarette breaks........... Donald Findlay QC, the pipe-smoking defence lawyer, condemned Highland council's plan as another over-the-top attack on smokers .......... Charles Cotton, an adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: "Workers are legally entitled to breaks and employers have to acknowledge that.
Council to ban smoking breaks for workers 5 Sept - AS ABOVE
Cigarette sales short of puff 8 Sept - 8.1 per cent fall in cigarette volumes in the UK
Cigarette curb plea for U18s 16 Sept - urged Holyrood to raise the age limit for buying cigarettes to 18
Wigand to talk on tobacco risks 17 Sept - TOBACCO industry whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, will address the annual meeting of the lobby group ASH Scotland in Edinburgh on 27 September
Whistleblower set to support smoking ban on Capital visit19 Sept - I am happy for Scottish people and happy for the people who have made it happen, particularly Ash Scotland. He added: "Ireland has gained - sales are up in restaurants, business in booming and cigarette sales are down 16 per cent. I take my hat off to the government and to the non-governmental groups that have made this happen."
Five a day: Cut down on cigarettes 20 Sept - Liz Dawn (aka Vera Duckworth of Coronation Street) is suffering from the smoking-related illness chronic emphysema is a further reminder of the dangers of smoking Shock yourself into action by reading the fact sheets on the website of anti-smoking charity Ash at www.ash.org.uk (one claims that people who smoke between one and 14 cigarettes a day have eight times the risk of dying from lung cancer compared to non-smokers).
Drug boost for sufferers 22 Sept - drug that significantly increases the chances of a patient surviving more than a year ... Tarceva, a pill taken orally,
'Light' smokers face tripled risk of heart disease and cancer 22 Sept - study of more than 40,000 people found that the impact of such smoking is even greater for women and disproves the idea that light smokers escape the serious health problems associated with a 40-a-day habit. Maureen Moore, said there is no such thing as a "safe cigarette" "I always worry about people calling themselves social smokers as once you start smoking you are on a downward spiral," she said, adding that doctors have known for some time the dangers of the occasional cigarette but struggled to get the message across against the might of the tobacco industry.

Rod Bullough, of the campaign group Freedom to Choose, said: "People are fed up of being told what to do. Adults make their own decisions and get on with their own lives whether you smoke, drink or have a hamburger."
Firm helping staff stub out smoking habit the Easyway 22 Sept - a diminishing tolerance towards smokers in the workplace is forcing some companies to shell out to help their workers quit. .... Easyway Scotland's corporate service counts ScottishPower, Kwik-Fit, Scottish Gas, Total and BP among its clients.
Life or death fight to win smoke ban by Jeffrey Wigand 23 Sept - Passive smoke is responsible for lung cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental deaths in children, impaired cognitive ability and reduced IQ testing in children, low birth weight, ear infections, induced asthma, and impotence... to name just a few........ twofold increase in the risk of a heart attack with exposure to passive smoke and that as little as 30 minutes exposure can start the damaging pathological processes
Smoking 'may increase risk of diabetes' 26 Sept - study in the US has found it may also be linked to Type 2 diabetes
Anti-smoking whistleblower doctor gives speech in city 27 Sept - AS ABOVE + ASH Scotland expected to launch a new research paper, entitled The Unwelcome Guest: How Scotland Invited the Tobacco Industry to Smoke Outside, tells of how the decision to ban smoking in public places was made
Hollywood anti-tobacco icon praises ban 28 Sept - He said - the industry tactic is to create obfuscation, controversy and intimidation," ..... . ButTim Lord, of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, said the industry had never hidden its opinion. "Our arguments centre around freedom of choice and what the public wants,"
Shopping mall takes a lead on no smoking 29 Sept - SHOPPING complex in one of the most deprived parts of the city is to become the first in Edinburgh to introduce a complete smoking ban .............. Maureen Moore, said: "We welcome the Westside Plaza's decision to end smoking in the mall. "Second-hand smoke kills hundreds of Scots every year, and protecting people from it is important ....................
Nurse realised message to patients was wrong 1 Oct - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Ways to give up, No 1: Nicotine-replacement therapy 1 Sept - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Here's how to give up before the ban comes in 1 Sept - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
'My family's been going on at me for years to stop' 3 Sept - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
The demon weed with a long and nefarious history 3 Sept - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
'I can think of better things to die from...' 4 Sept - VEITCH + Giving up the Easyway with Allen Carr
Stubbing out 5 Sept - British American Tobacco has agreed to sell its 55 per cent stake in BAR Honda to Honda Motor
Why don't we realise how addictive smoking is? 5 Sept - VEITCH-AS ABOVE series of articles by Jennifer Veitch + CASE STUDY: QUITTING COLD TURKEY + Smoking your looks away
It is never too late to give up smoking and feel the benefit 6 Sept - VEITCH + Give up with laser therapy and acupuncture + THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF STOPPING SMOKING FOR EVERYONE + FOR WOMEN + FOR MEN
Smokers burn through £91,832 in deadly habit 6 Sept - average British smoker spends £91,832.43 on cigarettes in a lifetime, Ian Willmore, a spokesman for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: "This survey shows just how wasteful and addictive smoking is.
ScotRail stubs out smoking on sleepers 8 Oct - next sleeper services, which run tomorrow night, will be smoke-free,
Ad drive to help smokers give up 10 Oct - MAJOR advertising campaign to help smokers kick the habit was launched today by Health Minister Andy Kerr
Smoking ban sparks sale of family's pub 11 Oct - Eighty Queen Street, has been sold after the owners admitted the smoking ban would be a problem.
Breathing easy 12 Oct - BAN on smoking in Norwegian bars, restaurants and night clubs has been a huge success in improving staff health, the government said yesterday.
Midwives deliver on smoking 13 Oct - TEAM of midwives has been nominated for a national award for a groundbreaking scheme aimed at stopping pregnant women smoking
Laser therapy helps smokers see the light 16 Oct - claims a success rate of at least half the clients who use the treatment
Northern Ireland to ban public smoking 18 Oct - banned in workplaces in Northern Ireland, including bars and restaurants, from April 2007, .... extensive consultation exercise, the minister, who is an ex-smoker, said the protection of workers from second-hand smoke was a social justice issue
Cabinet can't agree details of smoking ban 26 Oct - Cabinet was in disarray last night over a proposed ban on smoking in workplaces and pubs in England, as departments and ministers openly clashed over the details of the legislation.argument among ministers centres around who, if anyone, should be exempt from the ban............. Some members of the Cabinet - including John Reid, the Defence Secretary - fear a blanket ban would undermine Labour's manifesto pledge for a "smoking carriage" clause. Mr Reid sparked a furore in June, when, as Health Secretary, he described smoking as one of the few pleasures available to the poor.
Anger over watered-down smoking ban 27 Oct - GOVERNMENT ministers faced a back-bench revolt last night after refusing to follow Scotland's lead and back a total ban on smoking in pubs and workplaces in England. - published today after John Reid, the Defence Secretary, intervened to stop his successor at the Department of Health, Patricia Hewitt, from imposing a blanket ban.
Devolution was the key to stubbing out smoking in public 27 Oct - by Margaret Smith, (Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh West)- Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, revealed plans for the future of smoking in public places in England. However, Cabinet infighting over the content of this legislation has been so intense that its publication was nearly shelved. ............ Devolution has made government more responsive to the needs of its voters . ......... Bringing government closer to the people - making it more democratic and responsive - is the way to produce genuinely radical reform for our public services.
Pub chain boss sparks legal battle on smoking ban 2 Nov - Alan Bowes, executive chairman of London and Edinburgh Swallow Group, is also appealing for like-minded pub firms to join him.
Stub out for a merrier Christmas 3 Nov - SMOKERS who kick the habit today will have signs of a healthier heart as early as Christmas, campaigners said. The British Heart Foundation,
Leading hotel chain launches legal bid to thwart smoking ban 3 Nov - The Swallow Group, which runs 60 hotels and 120 pubs across Scotland, is preparing legal action arguing that the ban, set to become law next March, is in breach of human rights...........Maureen Moore, the chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: "The debate on smoking in public places was carried out for two years before the act was passed. Where was Alan Bowes during that time ................. frivolous legal challenge that goes against the democratic will of Scotland ............Mr Bowes said profits could dip by 35 per cent across the Scottish industry and licensed property prices will fall
Councils get cash boost to patrol ban on smoking 4 Nov - LOCAL councils are to get £6 million to enforce ........ cash will enable each council to recruit two new environmental health workers,
Tobacco firm criticised over 'safer' cigarette 7 Nov - health campaigners who believe such a move could hinder efforts to reduce the 120,000 annual deaths........ the UK Lung Cancer Coalition - says that survival rates could be doubled in the next ten years if standards of care improved.
Screen smoke inspires youth 8 Nov - NEARLY 40 per cent of United States adolescents who give smoking a try do so because they saw it in films, a study revealed yesterday
Firms told to call in police for help to enforce smoking ban 8 Nov - Businesses and organisations will be required to take all "reasonable precautions" to ensure that employees, customers and other visitors do not smoke on their premises ...... .Andy Kerr, publishing the document, said: "We are confident that, in time, the improvement in public health delivered will be regarded as one of the greatest achievements of devolution."
Countdown starts to smoke ban 9 Nov - Many publicans are already nervous about enforcing the ban, which will see them suffer a loss in revenue. - In Scotland, 70 per cent of Scots don't smoke and of those who do 70 per cent want to give up.
Firms won't be out in cold by Duncan Bannatyne (entrepreneur and star of BBC2 show Dragons' Den) 9 Nov - Office for National statistics, 30 per cent of non-smokers said they would visit pubs more often if smoking was restricted, while only 12 per cent of smokers would visit less often. The licensed trade is therefore in a great position to take advantage of the ban. ............ In Ireland, approximately 7000 people have given up smoking since the ban's introduction and in a recent survey, 80 per cent of those who had given up said that the smoking ban had helped them to do so....... first anniversary, a survey undertaken by the Office of Tobacco Control, found that 93 per cent of people feel the introduction of the law was a good idea (including 80 per cent of smokers), and 98 per cent of people believed that workplaces were healthier (including 94 per cent of smokers).
Smokers create new jobs 12 Nov - Twenty new jobs have been created at a contact centre in Brora, with 12 posts handling calls from people seeking advice on quitting smoking
Why it's time for Executive to raise cigarette-buying age to 18 12 Nov - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
How to police the smoke ban 14 Nov -
Bad diet now beats smoking 15 Nov - BAD diets have overtaken smoking as Britain biggest health burden, with the ill- effects costing the NHS £6 billion a year.
Smoking is bad for Hearts 16 Nov - Andy Kerr said: "I am very pleased to see that support at home is continuing to grow for a smoke-free Scotland."
Smoking ban 'will apply to priests - but not subs' - 16 Nov -
£200 fines for restaurants without no-smoking signs 20 Nov -
England a step closer to Scotland in war on smoking 5 Dec - premises will be defaced by "ugly notices."
Smokers in poorest areas spend most on tobacco 25 Nov - Maureen Moore, ASH Scotland, said deprived areas suffer the most. "These results show the extent to which it is the poorest people in Scotland who suffer the most because of tobacco. The diseases caused by smoking are diseases of poverty,.........." ........... Yesterday, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England, revealed he had considered resigning over the government's decision. ....... ministers had "ignored" his strong medical advice and put him in a "very difficult position".
Hard-hitting passive smoking TV ads pave way for pubs ban 28 Nov - ad campaign is costing £215,000 for the TV slots alone. And it is designed to get across the message that other people's smoke is a killer ..... promote the ad campaign today was Fiona Castle, widow of entertainer and children's presenter Roy Castle, ........... Mr Kerr said the advert showed the stark reality of the risk posed by second-hand smoke ........... "In Scotland, second-hand smoke is associated with up to 1000 deaths a year among life-long non-smokers." .... .produced by The Leith advertising agency
Castle's widow hails smoke ban 29 Nov - TV commercial which will form part of a £750,000 advertising blitz.
More smokers in poor areas 1 Dec - in the most deprived areas more than half of men and 45 per cent of women smoke....... Scottish Health Statistics survey shows that 31 per cent of Scots smoke - a three per cent decrease since the last survey in 1998
World health body bans recruiting smokers 3 Dec - ALREADY banned from lighting up in many public places, smokers were dealt a further blow yesterday when it emerged that the World Health Organisation is to ban the hiring of cigarette addicts ......... Dr Paul Graham, a Glasgow University politics lecturer ....... "Perhaps employers will see that smoking creates image problems if it becomes a completely pariah activity. It's quite possible this could become more common." ... spokeswoman for the British Medical Association Scotland said: "it's a strong message to send out, but I don't think it's one the BMA would send out itself."
Rush to kick habit before smoking law begins 4 Nov - figures up to the middle of November 2005, 58,594 people called the Executive's Smokeline service for advice on quitting. That figure compares to 55,561 for the whole of 2004 and to 40,000 in 2003......... Andy Kerr "country's health and productivity will improve and the incidence of smoking-related diseases will fall. .......... Health campaigners point out that about 13,000 people die every year as a result of smoking in Scotland and that more than 7,000 people in Ireland stopped smoking in the first six months of the ban in that country
England a step closer to Scotland in war on smoking 5 Dec - ENGLAND is set to follow Scotland's lead in taking further action against smoking - by raising the minimum age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18. .... ASH yesterday said Ms Hewitt's move was designed at appeasing backbench MPs who want Westminster to follow Scotland by introducing a complete ban on smoking in public places, instead of the partial ban she was forced to propose........ Deborah Arnott-"We are anxious that smoking is seen as an adult activity. Anything that stops children smoking we will look at very seriously. We just don't think this type of law can be enforced."
Latest buildings in line for a smoke ban - smokers' shelters 6 Dec - Scottish Executive has admitted the structures outside government buildings will fall foul of its own public smoking ban because they are more than 50 per cent enclosed ...Len Morris, Public and Commercial Services union .... "There are more positive ways of encouraging staff to quit smoking than sending them outside in dire weather so they get the flu."
Ministers listen on tobacco age limit 8 Dec - Government announced today it will hold a consultation on raising the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18.- next year
Award win sparked by stop-smoking scheme 10 Dec - PROJECT based at St John's Hospital has won the QUIT award for being the best stop-smoking project in the UK. Maureen Moore,ASH Scotland, said: " It's fantastic that this project is being recognised for the work that it's doing to support women and their partners."
Smokers' shelters to face closure 11 Dec - Hospitality businesses in Scotland are being warned not to buy the specially designed outdoor shelters to house customers who smoke, as many of them will still be classified as enclosed spaces
Smoking ban kicks off with half marathon 14 Dec - NEW half marathon is to take place in the Capital on the day anti-smoking laws are introduced
Ruling due on £10bn tobacco case 15 Dec - defrauded customers by claiming "light" cigarettes were healthier than regular ones.
Health Minister announces a new smoking reduction target 15 Dec - Andy Kerr wants to reduce smoking among adults from an average of 26.5 per cent in 2004 to 22 per cent by 2010.
Puffed up 16 Dec - Illinois Supreme Court has reversed a $10.1bn (£5.7bn) damages ruling against tobacco firm Philip Morris,
Taxpayers fuming as council offers staff £50 to butt out 16 Dec - council could pay out up to £150,000 ......... estimated 3,000 smokers on the 12,000-strong payroll of Highland Council, taxpayers in the region could end up funding the massive bill........ Bill Fulton, an independent councillor for Skye, himself a smoker, said: "Personally, .......... If I want to stop smoking, it's up to me to stop and I don't think council tax payers should be paying me to do it...... Simon Cole-Hamilton, director of the Highland CBI, backed Mr Fulton's criticism of the scheme. ..... David Alston, a councillor for the Liberal Democrats who sits on the board of NHS Highland, defended the plan...... Andy Kerr, the health minister, said the Executive plans to cut the number of adult smokers by 186,500 by 2010.
Smoke bans create 'danger for children' 19 Dec - The research by University College London found that smokers were more likely to light up at home if prevented from doing so in cafes and bars.............. results suggest total bans cause a "displacement effect", which increases the exposure to cigarette smoke for the poor but decreases it for the rich and widens health inequalities
Partial smoking ban unworkable, warn MPs 20 Dec - A complete ban is the "only effective means" of protecting people from second-hand smoke, the committee said............ Labour chairman Kevin Barron said it would be "very difficult" in all conscience for fellow MPs to vote for a partial ban...... said the partial ban "protected political egos, not ... public health".
Scots smokers urged not to light up in their own homes 21 Dec - Scottish Executive spelled out how the smoking ban, due to come into effect in March, could be extended to cover NHS, local authority and care staff who have to visit private homes in the course of their work. But the advice was dismissed as "ridiculous nonsense" by independent conservative MSP Brian Monteith....... Maureen Moore, ASH Scotland welcomed the new guidelines. She said: " I am delighted that these new guidelines, which ASH Scotland helped draw up, will help protect employees and service users from second-hand smoke." ....... Executive also published survey findings showing support for the smoking ban was still around 58 per cent, in line with a similar survey in August.... awareness of the risks of passive smoking had increased from 83 per cent in May to 90 per cent in November.
Team smokes out quitters 22 Dec - NHS Lothian has employed a team of smoking cessation specialists to complement the work of staff
Scotland's largest football venues issue the red card to smokers 22 Dec - SCOTLAND'S three biggest football stadiums will ban smoking from early next year - even though they are under no obligation to do so
Is there a smoker in the house? 22 Dec - PRE-PAY ARTICLE - THE full implications of the ban on smoking in public - which comes into force next March - have begun to emerge with the publication by the Executive of guidelines for protecting NHS and local-authority workers from passive inhaling.
Now Executive warns: no smoking at home 22 Dec - Smokers will be sent letters asking them not to light up for one hour before a council worker or health worker calls round as part of plans to protect public sector workers from the effects of passive smoking..... Ministers have told councils, health boards and social work departments that they should compile a "smokers' map" of Scotland, focusing on those who regularly receive visits from officials and carers. This would identify individual households where a smoker is resident......... Mike Rumbles, a Liberal Democrat MSP on the parliament's health committee, said: "This is politically correct nonsense, it is political correctness gone mad....... Murdo Fraser. Scottish Tories, said: "This is a huge bureaucratic burden being put on local authorities and other public agencies ........... spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive stressed that councils and other bodies were not expected to incur any extra costs as a result of the new guidelines....... number of people who did not allow smoking in their homes remained consistent at 42 per cent.
Passive smoke may harm skin 27 Dec - Clinique Laboratories, there is a link to passive smoking and a type of skin damage commonly known as "smoker's skin".
Accolade for Lothians anti-smoking project 30 Dec - SCHEME which encourages pregnant women in the Lothians to stop smoking has been named as the most innovate
2006
Spanish tobacco ban leaves smokers out in the cold 2 Jan - "To go to a bar where there is no smoke, it's like you're not in Spain," said Javier Gonzalez, an avid smoker and a bartender in Madrid........... is relatively liberal when it comes to smoking in bars and restaurants.
Now even smoking outside could be banned 2 Jan - ministers have suggested to councils and other public bodies that they consider extending the ban to outdoor areas which are used by children, such as playgrounds and parks, and even outside school gates .......... "However, there is no suggestion whatsoever that smoking is being banned anywhere apart from enclosed public spaces. I made this clear in the debate of 30 June.
Young smokers take grim legacy to adulthood 5 Jan - diet and smoking habits of men during their childhood could affect the health of their sons,
Bar staff put on frontline in fight to enforce smoking ban 5 Jan - BAR and restaurant staff in the Capital are to be told they will have to play the leading role in enforcing Scotland's smoking ban despite fears they will face torrents of abuse ............. Mary Moriarty, licensee of the Port O' Leith pub, on Constitution Street, Leith, warned bar managers and their staff would be left in an impossible position
WHO rejects applications from smokers 6 Jan - WHO says the decision is based on its position at the helm of the global campaign against smoking.
Smoking ban will leave theatre world fuming 8 Jan - Executive has passed legislation that amounts to censorship. And if the industry doesn't rebel first, there'll be a king-size amount of explaining to do when thousands of performers arrive for the Edinburgh Fringe only to be told to think again about their smoky portrayals of Winston Churchill, Sherlock Holmes, Albert Einstein and the rest
Smokers resolve to keep puffing till March 9 Jan - first five days of January, only 512 people called Smokeline, a national service for people wanting to stop, against 932 over the same period last year. ...... Maureen Moore, tASH Scotland, said she was disappointed to see the Smokeline figures go down. "People should stop as soon as possible, not put it off until the legislation comes in,"
Rebel MPs to fight partial smoking ban 10 Jan - new survey revealed that 70 per cent of backbenchers want a total ban
Club owners warn of security chaos under smoking crackdown 10 Jan - Clubbers are supposed to be searched whenever they enter venues under Edinburgh licensing rules in an effort to clamp down on drugs and weapons ....... Capital's licensing leader councillor, Phil Attridge, said: "We can learn from the experiences of Dublin and New York where the number of people actually wanting to smoke when they are out clubbing has dropped considerably. I was speaking to a club owner in Dublin who said for a club with 1000 people in it you would typically have about a dozen people outside smoking at any one time so I don't think it will be a big issue.
Train drivers rail against smoke ban 11 Jan - even raised safety fears among rail chiefs who claim that smoking helps concentration ...... Chris Gibb, the managing director of Virgin CrossCountry "If drivers are smoking as an aid to concentration, it would be foolish to issue an edict banning it." ..... spokesman for ASLEF, the main train drivers' union, expressed opposition to a sudden ban. "Drivers have a particular concern regarding safety and they should not be asked to cut out smoking instantly."
PM bows to smoke-ban lobby 12 Jan - PATRICIA Hewitt, the Health Secretary, is to oppose her own legislation and back a total ban on smoking in English pubs........ In a highly unusual step, Mr Blair said he was prepared to overlook his manifesto pledge in England that pubs would be free to choose whether to allow smoking or not. ......... "The public mood was going towards a complete ban," said a spokesman for Mr Blair (WRONG)
Wetherspoon cautious as smoking ban in pubs looms 13 Jan - cautious stance on its second-half outcome as it faces up to a number of challenges, including the Scottish smoking ban.
Landlords seeking to clear the air on pub smoking shelters 13 Jan - they claim their plans have been held up by confusion over the regulations about what kind of shelters are allowed.
Neighbours want 'smokers' shelter' to be stubbed out 14 Jan - NEW Town hotel has upset its neighbours by putting up a canopy where smokers will be able to shelter from the elements outside its front door .............. "In this case the building is listed so an application for planning permission would be required.
VisitScotland told to clear the air on smoking 14 Jan - VISITSCOTLAND is not doing enough to promote Scotland as a clean-air destination to thousands of potential visitors as the smoking ban approaches, political leaders and tourism experts have warned.
It's the filthiest habit, but can they kick it? 16 Jan - by Sarah Howden - 4 people trying to quit. - Smoking is a cold-blooded, cancer-causing killer, which is responsible for more than 13,000 deaths every year in Scotland and thousands of chronic illnesses ......... For the other thing that fags are is addictive. Despite the empty wallets, foul breath, stinking clothes, premature ageing and a ticket to an early grave, for those committed to lighting up, it can be near impossible to stub out the habit.
Women smokers find stubbing out harder than men 18 Jan - study comes a year after Italy, famous for its cafe culture, banned smoking in enclosed public places leading to a 10 per cent fall in tobacco sales............. Italian women are finding it more difficult than men to kick the habit, with just 17 per cent managing to give up in the last four years, compared with almost a third of men............ more men than women smoked - 67 per cent compared with 52 per cent -...............Meanwhile there were concerns that groups of smokers or "smoking huddles" - soon to be seen outside buildings after Scotland bans smoking inside pubs and restaurants - are a risk to the health of passers-by. Professor Roy Colville of Imperial College London, found passing smokers in the street can expose people to more pollution than traffic. He said: "It could be that we need to move smokers indoors, as having them huddled outside pubs and restaurants could cause a big problem. Perhaps indoor smoking rooms are the answer." ............. (Scottish)parliament's corporate body took a decision yesterday not to provide any facilities for smokers after the end of next month,
Pub workers to be studied for smoke health risks 20 Jan - WORKERS in Scotland's pubs and club are to be studied by Dundee University's asthma and allergy research group to assess the impact of the forthcoming smoking ban on their health.
Fears pubs will go up in smoke if England votes for a total ban 20 Jan - boss of Britain's second-biggest pubs group has branded the Government's handling of the forthcoming smoking ban in England as "incompetent". ......... The Lancet has urged all MPs to vote for a complete ban, describing current proposals as an "ill-judged and nonsensical compromise". JD Wetherspoon Last week, though, it revealed that like-for-like sales at its non-smoking bars had fallen 7.3 per cent over the first quarter.
Pub chief hits out at smoke-ban 'muddle' 20 Jan - AS ABOVE
Women find it more of a drag to quit cigarettes 22 Jan - ITALY STORY AGAIN -Less than 10% of men who had given up said they missed smoking while the figure for women who had given up and who missed cigarettes was 30%." Since January 1, 2005 smoking in all public places has been banned in Italy and as a result cigarette sales have fallen by 10%. According to ministry of health figures, more than 500,000 people have given up
Want to beat Scotland's smoking ban? Try renting this room for £250 a night 22 Jan - some five-star hotels admit that they will exploit a clause which allows guests to smoke as long as it is in the privacy of specially designated bedrooms. ....... Maureen Moore, anti-smoking campaign group ASH, said: " We would hope that as the smoking ban beds down the smoking bedrooms will wither away and die."
Total smoke ban in England 'would see 700,000 quit' 23 Jan - Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) and Asthma UK said the introduction of a total ban would help 689,000 English smokers give up
Health chiefs set to extend smoking ban to grounds 25 Jan - PATIENTS and visitors could be banned from smoking in hospital grounds under new plans being considered by health chiefs. ..... move aims to stop smokers congregating in entrances - a major source of complaints to hospital chiefs ............ much debate on how health visitors will be able to enforce the ban. Staff will have the right to refuse to enter smoking areas and health visitors will request that patients do not smoke in their own homes for an hour before they are due to visit
Quitting smoking spontaneously more likely to work 27 Jan - may prove more successful than making detailed plans in advance, research suggested today........... survey, funded by Cancer Research UK, found that 65 per cent of unplanned attempts had succeeded for at least six months compared with fewer than half (45 per cent) of those who made plans
Coping with stubbing out nicotine habit 30 Jan - REFER BACK to 4 people quittig -
Confusion clouds ban on bus stop smoking 31 Jan - Smokers run the risk of landing on-the-spot fines of £50 for lighting up at certain bus shelters because they meet the Scottish Executive's definition of "an enclosed space ... Maureen Moore,ASH, said: "- it's the right thing to do to stop people from smoking in them. "It is quite easy to stand outside the bus shelter if you do want to have a cigarette." ... Andy Kerr -appropriate signage must be displayed if necessary."
Quitting tobacco may help pregnancy 1 Feb - Couples trying for a baby have been urged to give up smoking.
Imperial Tobacco smoking on 1 Feb - has told the government that a smoking ban in England and Wales is likely to have little long-term effect.
Ex-smokers offer help to quit the habit 1 Feb - Health Scotland, said: "The response to the first phase of this campaign has been excellent, with over 10,000 calls to Smokeline and 5000 texts.
Crackdown to stop smokers at hospitals 1 Feb - EXTRA security guards are set to be drafted into Edinburgh's main hospitals to tackle smokers who become aggressive ..... SNP health spokeswoman Shona Robison said it was a pity cash was having to be diverted from paying for frontline medical staff to pay for policing the ban.
Obese, smokers and drinkers should not be treated, say doctors 3 Feb - Almost 40 per cent of doctors believe the obese, smokers and those who drink excessively should be excluded from some treatments.
Doctors urge Executive to raise age to buy cigarettes 3 Feb - Scottish Executive has been challenged to match English plans to increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes to 18............. Department of Health yesterday confirmed that ministers plan to take powers to set the minimum age for smoking in England. The department promised "swift action" to raise the age limit south of the Border.
Many who support a ban seem not content to leave it there 3 Feb - Tensions have been further raised as a result of opposition to measures being taken by the leisure industry and employers to provide comfortable outdoor refuges for smokers to indulge in their habit.......... some predicting a drop in revenue of up to 20 per cent as a result of the ban as experienced in Dublin............. drawn objections from nearby flats, not protesting that great swathes of smoke will envelop their homes but principally voicing concerns smokers will increase the amount of noise they already suffer late at night............ common sense has a part to play in all of this and the rights of those who choose to smoke must also be respected until such time as smoking in general is outlawed
Do we want casino's smokers next door? You bet we don't 3 Feb - AS ABOVE - Control of noise would have to be addressed by Environmental and Consumer Services under other legislation if a complaint were to be made." A letter from the city council's environmental services described the site as "a smokers' cage".
Now even white van man will fall foul of the smoking police 3 Feb - LORRY drivers, white-van men and farmers will be banned from smoking in their vehicles as part of Scotland's ban.----- It will cover both when lorries are on the road and while parked overnight, where drivers sleep in their cabs. Phil Flanders, the RHA's director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said he expected the ban to cause concern. He said: "It's going to be very difficult to enforce and are we not going too far? --- knew of drivers in the past who had been advised by their doctors to quit smoking, then told they should take up the habit again because of the stress that giving up had caused them
Smoke ban lands on my doorstep 5 Feb - that any argument over Draconian lawmaking is far outweighed by the effect this will have on the physical health of our nation for generations .... Does that mean that not only am I to obligingly accept being subjected to increased fumes on the street, but that it is my responsibility to tackle and disperse people who will inevitably take shelter in my doorway to have a cigarette? .......... Executive has come in for a bashing already about its lack of foresight regarding the knock-on effects of this ban, and surely one of the most important is that it doesn't just shift the problem from one doorstep to another.
Gourmet smokers stub out in style 5 Feb - Restaurants and clubs across Scotland are planning a series of "last suppers" in which customers will celebrate - or more likely commemorate - the introduction of the Scottish Executive's smoking ban next month........ Iggy Campos, the 30-a-day, Valencian owner of Igg's, on Jeffrey Street, said "I don't agree with the ban but like everyone else I will have to comply" .. Wild Bergamot chef-proprietor Alan Burns "I am not a smoker but I am against the ban from the freedom of choice point of view, The Executive has overstepped the mark with this ban, which is turning us into a nanny state."
Tobacco companies 'fooled' smokers 8 Feb - (SEE 16 DEC) TOBACCO manufacturers adopted a "deliberate strategy to fool consumers" that low-tar products were healthier than ordinary cigarettes, according to a report published in the Lancet medical journal today. ...... A spokeswoman for the anti-smoking group ASH said: "This is, unfortunately, rather typical of what we have come to expect from the tobacco industry."
'Smokers cage' no pipe dream 9 Feb -

"SMOKERS' cage" is to be built outside the Gala Maybury Casino for customers, despite concerns from local residents about invasion of privacy, especially since the building is open until 5am.
Boxing star Arthur joins passive smoking fight 9 Feb - follows a new study which shows two-thirds of people living in the Lothians are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke. ......... measures are part of a £750,000 nationwide drive by the Scottish Executive to combat passive smoking.
Loopholes leave new smoking ban laws looking a little hazy 9 Feb - YOU can light up on an oil rig, but must stub out in a cigar store; you can smoke on a ferry berthed in Rosyth, but not one moored in Oban ... Scottish ports, fishing vessels are classified as places of employment and therefore subject to the smoking ban in enclosed areas, but once out to sea and beyond the 12-mile perimeter of Scottish waters crews are effectively free to do as their captain permits. According to the new legislation there are ten exemptions to the ban. These are: residential accommodation; designated rooms in adult care homes; adult hospices; designated rooms in psychiatric hospitals; designated hotel rooms; detention or police interview rooms; designated rooms in offshore installations such as oil rigs; private vehicles; designated laboratory rooms where research into smoking is carried out; and HM submarines and ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. ........... Maureen Moore, ASH Scotland, says the legislation is not only clear but "world class" and that in future years it might go even further: "We are proud of the smoke-free law ........ It takes account of evidence and experience from other countries and is comprehensive, world-class legislation, which will help protect people from exposure to toxic second-hand smoke. "The very few exemptions have been carefully debated and are there for good reasons."
Smokers to be left out in cold at restaurants 10 Feb - SMOKERS face being left to shiver on the streets outside restaurants and bars across the Capital because many venues are being refused permission to use outdoor heaters ........... too dangerous to use the heaters next to chairs and tables on pavements.
Smoking ban leaves police cars exempt 11 Feb - but smokers will have one refuge: the back of a police car. In another bizarre exception to Scotland's smoking legislation .............. loophole enabling driving instructors to continue smoking was attacked by anti-smoking groups, which said their vehicles should be classed as public places. It has arisen because most cars used by driving instructors are classed as private vehicles rather than commercial vehicles or public transport.......... Peter Harvey, the chairman of the Motors Schools Association, expected members not to smoke when instructing pupils. However, he was against a ban. ASH Scotland, which campaigns against smoking, said the law should be changed.......... Maureen Moore, "Driving instructors' cars should not be exempt from the ban. When they are used for driving instruction, they become a public place and a place of work, and should be smoke free."
Smoking police out to nick Rebus 12 Feb - can reveal that a new television version of Rebus will feature a smoking ban plot line in which the irascible detective rages over the controversial new law. In Rankin's novels, Rebus never visits his favourite watering hole, ..... without a cigarette for company. ........ once the ban is in place, even filming an actor drawing on a cigarette will be against the law,
MPs vote for total smoking ban 15 Feb - MPs decided by 384 to 184 ......... Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and other Cabinet colleagues ditched their own promise to voters and backed a full ban. Mr Reid, .... created a furore .......... when he said smoking was one of the few pleasures the working class had. Health campaigners denounced this position as irresponsible, pointing out a partial ban would disproportionately affect poorer people who would often patronise pubs where food was not served......... Westminster will be exempt from the ban, being classed as a royal palace - a situation described by one Tory MP as a "farce".
MPs urged to stub out smoking privileges 16 Feb - corridors of power are set to become smoke-free zones, despite the House of Commons being exempt from the law
Smoking ban to fuel sales of gas-guzzling patio heaters 17 Feb - ban on smoking indoors will damage the environment, politicians have warned......... gas-fired heaters emit more carbon than small cars - 7kg in two hours - triggering fears from MPs that the ban could exacerbate global warming
It's no-Ash Wednesday for congregation 20 Feb - A CHURCH is bringing the smoking ban in early to coincide with the start of the religious season of abstinence.
Great divide that marks Glasgow out as cancer capital of Scotland 20 Feb - first breakdown of cancer rates by local authority across Scotland, Glasgow is shown to have the highest rate of lung cancer at 145 per 100,000 men, compared with 54 per 100,000 in Shetland.
Smoke ban 'to boost skin care' 21 Feb - DERMATOLOGISTS have predicted smoke-free bars in the Capital would give pub-goers younger looking skin.
Council plan for portable ashtrays is commendable 23 Feb - city council is to be commended for having the foresight to supply pubs with portable ashtrays ......... sight of office workers puffing away outside their buildings is not particularly attractive and neither will clusters of smokers outside bars be.
Riot alert as prisoners face smoking ban 23 Feb - smoking ban could spark riots in Scotland's jails, prison officers have warned.
No butts.. use pouch or risk a litter fine 23 Feb - PUBS in the Capital are to be provided with 10,000 reusable ashtrays to prevent smokers who go outside for a cigarette ........ Charlie Galloway, at DM Stewart's "Within the licensed trade, a major issue is that this law is being forced on us, and licensed trade is funding part of the consequences. There's a certain amount of bitterness about that."
Parliament in smoking zone row 24 Feb - SCOTTISH Parliament bosses were today accused of hypocrisy after they created a special smoking zone for MSPs and staff.
Roll-up for a show that draws on smoking's glamorous past 25 Feb - IT is a pastime that has become so socially unacceptable that it will be banned in public from next month. IS IT???? ......... A spokesman for anti-smoking group ASH Scotland said: "This exhibition will certainly show how attitudes towards smoking, and the advertising of cigarettes in particular, has had to change as people realise how damaging smoking is to your health."
Soldiers face barracks smoking ban 26 Feb - despite being exempt from the new smoking ban legislation...... Even squaddies stationed at foreign bases will not escape the ban as it will be enforced on all MoD property.
Brewers can still drink to the smoking ban 26 Feb - testing year for those in the drinks trade as the smoking ban looms and threatens to drive people out of Britain's pubs.......... while the pubcos fear the worst and warn that revenues will fall, the brewers are less exposed. A shift from on-trade to off-trade is the likeliest outcome of the "disruption" that John Dunsmore, Scottish & Newcastle's UK boss, ....... but, put simply, those customers who want to drink and smoke are not going to stop - they will move from the pub to their home or other non-prohibited venues,
Complaints blitz puts outside ashtrays for smokers in dowt 27 Feb - pubs in conservation areas or which are listed buildings will need to seek permission to put up the bins under the new crackdown ...
Smoke rises as tobacco profits up 1 Mar - hit out at smoking bans on both sides of the Border as "intolerant and paternalistic
On-fire BAT in swipe at ban 1 Mar - BRITISH American Tobacco has taken a swipe at the Government's smoking ban ......... The policy is based on "an intolerant and paternalistic campaign to protect smokers from themselves, rather than meeting its stated objective of protecting the health of non-smokers",
Council fires up row over plan to ban smoking in city parks 1 Mar - ban, the first of its kind north of the Border, will forbid lighting up where children play in Glasgow
Pub's smoker shelter plans stubbed out 1 Mar - SMOKERS' shelter planned for a historic Lothian pub has been given the thumbs down by council planning chiefs. .. detrimental impact on the character and appearance of one of the principal elevations of this very attractive and distinctive historic building."
Growth to be dragged back, warns Gallaher 2 Mar - warned the impending smoking ban in pubs and clubs in England, due by mid-2007, would cut the cigarette market by around four to five per cent.
Restaurants stub out rooftop smoking 3 Mar - SMOKERS dining at top Capital restaurants are to be banned from lighting up on outside roof terraces. .....Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, said: "If restaurants want to ban smoking from their outside areas, that's up to them. I think more restaurants will try to accommodate their smoking customers than those that don't, but at least they have a choice."
Miners seek to shelter from smoking ban 6 Mar - MINERS' club has applied for permission to build a smoking shelter.
Smoking ban faces legal challenge 4 Mar - Alan Bowes of the Swallow group has lodged petitions at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to delay the ban, ....... described the ban as undemocratic, and said it will lead to more domestic violence, because people will stay at home to drink. He also claimed government advice on smoking comes from "people like Action on Smoking and Health, who are funded by the pharmaceutical industry who make nicotine patches".......... JD Wetherspoon said the voluntary no-smoking policy adopted by 50 of its 650 bars in the UK was being put on hold after sales in those outlets fell by nearly 8 per cent in the three months to January. ......... Scottish Licensed Retailers Association (SLRA) claims its worries about the impact of a smoking ban on the pubs industry have proved well-founded. A spokesman said: "It has vindicated everything we have said over the past two years, which is that business could be down by about 7 per cent." .... was "conservative" in warning of 2,300 jobs lost in the sector and 140 Scottish pubs under threat of closure. ...... spokesman for ASH, criticised the pub chain for getting cold feet. He said: "We are disappointed but not surprised. There is no evidence from Ireland and New York that [a ban] causes significant damage to trade. We don't expect it to do in this country
Five million vow to give up on No Smoking Day 5 Mar - a record five million smokers attempt to quit, according to a recent survey. by NOP for No Smoking Day showed that 41% of smokers in the UK were preparing to quit on March 8. ...... smoking has killed 6.3 million people in the UK in the last 50 years...... British Heart Foundation---- just three to six cigarettes a day doubles the chances of having a heart attack.
Smoking ban pouch? Ouch! 6 Mar -
Lothians gets prepared for smoking ban 7 Mar - More than 5000 premises in West Lothian will be covered by the ban,
Hearts and Hibs get ready to show the red card to smokers 8 Mar - FOOTBALL fans in the Capital who refuse to stub out their cigarettes face being kicked out the stadium.
Smoker claims that ban breaches his human rights 8 Mar - SPORTS club and a man addicted to nicotine are at the forefront of a legal challenge to Scotland's smoking ban........ Edinburgh City Football Club fears a large drop in income if people are not allowed to light up in its premises, and Donald Lawson, from the Highlands, Mr Lawson, of Aviemore, said the ban was a "disproportionate interference"
Pub landlords attack 'chaos' over smoking ban 8 Mar - PRE-PAY ARTICLE - there is "complete lack of national guidance" from the Executive. And they accuse local planning authorities of hampering efforts
Smokers oppose ban 9 Mar - three out of four smokers still oppose Scotland's forthcoming ban on smoking in enclosed public places, an MRUK survey
Case of mistaken identity as team tackled on smoke ban 9 Mar - amateur football team have received a barrage of scathing e-mails from people confusing them with a social club which has launched a legal challenge to the smoking ban .... Anonymous e-mails have flooded in to the East of Scotland League side,
Pair lit up by pub ashtrays photo book 10 Mar - Edinburgh pair have visited more than 400 bars, cafes and restaurants from Dumfries to Shetland - collecting ashtrays before the smoking ban makes them redundant
Bars mount £85m claim for profits going up in smoke 12 Mar - SCOTTISH bars are planning an £85m compensation claim against ministers to cover drink sales lost as a result of the smoking ban. Pubs and clubs predict their takings will fall by at least 7% and will argue in the Court of Session that the Scottish Executive should provide compensation to cover lack of consultation and last-minute changes to the law........ fall by an average of 7%, based on the experience of the pub trade in Ireland, ........... Donald Findlay, the veteran QC and long-standing critic of the bill, said: "While I wish them well, I think they have an uphill struggle. I have studied the new law at some considerable length, and I think the Executive have done enough to sneak it through. We smokers are destined to become an underclass."
Scotland's smoking ban a cause for pride 15 Mar - poll commissioned by Cancer Research UK found that 84 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds believe that "a smoke-free Scotland is something to be proud of".
Strong backing for smoke ban 15 Mar - SUPPORT for Scotland's smoking ban is strong in the Lothians, according to a Cancer Research UK poll. .... research suggests public backing is strongest in the Highlands and Islands and in Lothian and Borders, where 74 per cent "totally support" it. ........ women, with 81 per cent proud that Scotland will be the first country in the UK to go smoke-free, compared to 76 per cent of men.
Society's most vulnerable deserve rethink on smoking ban 17 Mar - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Plan to home in on breakers of smoke ban 18 Mar - Enforcement officers will go undercover in licensed premises across Edinburgh
Smoking warning on the cards 18 Mar - THOUSANDS of beer-mats warning smokers about the risk of being hit with fines for dumping cigarette butts in public are to flood city bars and nightclubs. ..... BUS shelters in West Lothian are set to become smoke-free zones once the smoking ban comes into force
Smoking spies set to blitz pubs and clubs as soon as ban begins 18 Mar - officials will dress in "civvies" to spy on customers to ensure the ban is being enforced ........ Officers will look for signs of "smokers' activity" such as ashtrays and the smell of smoke and follow up tip-offs left on a dedicated website. Simon Clark, Forest,"The whole smoking ban is more about self-promotion for the Scottish Parliament and very little to do with the welfare of people in Scotland."
Only 3 MSPs planning to quit smoking 20 Mar - MSPs who smoke and favoured the Bill but had no definite plans to quit were Rosemary Byrne and Rosie Kane (SSP), Cathy Craigie (Labour), Fergus Ewing, Bruce McFee, Tricia Marwick and Sandra White (SNP), and John Swinburne of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party.
City gets down to business for smoking ban 20 Mar - like in Ireland where a similar ban was introduced two years ago, scores of smokers will be relegated to braving the outdoors in order to satisfy their nicotine cravings........ Karen Calvert, Montpeliers Group "But we are anxious to ensure that customers who smoke do not feel discriminated against." .. George Fyvie,We tried to put smoking bins outside the Three Tuns," he says. "But we had to take them down because the council doesn't know whether we need planning permission for them or not. We've also had to install CCTV cameras and mirrors to ensure that we can check that people aren't smoking in the bar."
Army of staff will enforce smoking ban 20 Mar - Only 67 dedicated personnel have been employed across the country to make sure no-one flouts the legislation, but many other officials will be seconded to help them for the first few weeks of the ban,
Superstore night workers fuming at smoking ban 21 Mar - SUPERMARKET workers have been left fuming after being told they will not be allowed cigarette breaks throughout ten-hour nightshifts Staff at Morrisons stores are not allowed to leave the premises .... "Surely they could provide a secure area outside, meaning that people can still have a cigarette. There's about a dozen staff who work the nightshifts most nights and half of them smoke
This smoke ban leaves me cold . . 21 Mar - the moment I start drinking in a pub, the urge to smoke comes with it....... 28-year-old barman and smoker Brett Sedgewick 'I'D have preferred to see pubs given a choice between being smoking or non-smoking, but that's not happened. .....Maybe it's acting as a kind of blanket that's covering every other odour in the room - meaning that when the ban comes in, all these drinkers are suddenly going to be confronted with a cocktail of BO and flatulence instead.......... Hundreds of animated, sociable figures standing fag-in-hand and having a far better time than those fighting their way to the bar through the less-than-fragrant crowds.
On 26 March, Scotland won't be smoke-free 21 Mar - PRE-PAY ARTICLE - MOST laws that aim to protect the rights of some will infringe the rights of others, and surely there are few better examples of this tension than Scotland's looming ban on smoking in enclosed public places.
Mixed smoke signals 21 Mar -
No chain smoking 22 Mar - Morrisons said there were no plans to relax the no-exit ruling in light of the ban.
Restaurant rolls out cigars one last time before ban 22 Mar - The usually non-smoking Igg's Restaurant, on Jeffrey Street, is to re-open to smokers for a final time at a £40-a-head three-course meal and cigar party
When no smoke is clearly a winner 22 Mar - The Burgh is not having to make any changes at all - as it's one of a handful of pubs which have already voluntarily gone smoke-free over the last couple of years
The last gasp 22 Mar - From smoke-themed menus to a temporary relaxing of existing rules on lighting up, Scotland's publicans and restaurateurs are allowing this soon-to-be-forbidden fruit one last fling in the limelight before it's forced to quit the indoor stage for good. Alan Burns, Wild Bergamot restaurant "Although I don't smoke, I do believe in freedom of choice,And I'm sorry that my regular cigar smokers will not be able to smoke - even in the lounge - after a meal. ....... Irish 'disaster' points to big job losses, claim Scottish licensees . .......... Paul Waterson, SLTA, accused MSPs of ignoring the industry's views. "We commissioned independent research over a year ago which showed we could well lose 2,500 jobs, 142 medium-sized pubs would close and we would lose over £100 million in turnover in the first year. "This was based on figures coming from Ireland at that time. ......... spokesman for the Scottish Executive said that smoke-free legislation is associated with fewer adults remaining smokers and lower levels of smoking more generally. He added: "In New York there are now nearly 200,000 fewer smokers since 2002 and exposure to second-hand smoke in homes dropped by more than a third. (60,000 a year but home exposure figure only from non-smoker's homes?) International evidence suggests the ban will be good for the economy. In Ireland, for example, bar retail value sales are now up on pre-ban levels."
McConnell in warning over smoking ban 23 Mar - "I have no doubt there will be some people who will find it difficult initially to co-operate and there will be others who will be unhappy about the fact the way they currently enjoy their leisure time has been changed." "It is important we bring public opinion with us."
Last puff before lights out on smoking 23 Mar - one in four employees they had designated areas where smoking is allowed on workplace premises. The ban will therefore have implications for a considerable number of the Capital's workplaces that still allow smoking inside the premises. ......... ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Scotland claims the ban will provide a recruitment boost for Scottish employers that currently allow smoking in the workplace. Job-seekers unwilling to work in smoky environments, or unable to, due to conditions such as asthma and angina, will have increased recruitment options when the ban comes into force, according to ASH Scotland. The organisation also envisages that the ban will create a healthier workforce, reduce levels of absenteeism, increase productivity and reduce fire risks and cleaning and redecorating costs.
Packet of cigarettes a day 'raises risk of impotence by 40%' 23 Mar - study of more than 8,000 men aged 16 to 59 found about one in ten reported suffering erection problems for a month or more in the previous year. Deborah Arnott, ASH, said that, for decades, cigarettes had been marketed as a symbol of virility, encouraging men to smoke through macho advertising images, such as the Marlboro Man. "Yet, the reality is that smoking is a primary cause of impotence, which may also be an early indicator of coronary heart disease,".
Smokers told they will be on the butt end of litter fines 23 Mar - SMOKERS were today warned against discarding cigarette butts on Edinburgh's streets after the number of fines for dropping litter doubled to four a day.
Smoking ban has given us a better way of life 23 Mar - 4 pro-ban accounts
World's largest bar-staff health study 24 Mar - SCIENTISTS at Aberdeen University are to monitor the health of 350 bar staff across the country during the next nine months in a £140,000 study funded by NHS Scotland. The study will also determine whether bar workers who smoke have been encouraged to kick the nicotine habit as a result of the ban.
Smokers urged to burn a trail to healthy life 24 Mar - SMOKERS are being urged to quit and take up a more healthy habit in a campaign at the city's shopping centres
Drinkers who flout smoke ban face bar from 18 pubs in Leith 24 Mar - A group of licensees in the Leith area have banded together to help enforce the legislation through a new Pub Watch scheme.
Smoke ban enforcers told to go easy 24 Mar - said he did not want to provoke anger and confrontation
We'll breathe easier when smoke clears 24 Mar - Some carefully picked enthusiasts
Our civil rights are going up in smoke by Brian Monteith 24 Mar - I'm not addicted to tobacco - but I am addicted to social intercourse, to having a laugh with my mates, be they boys or girls, to enjoying that moment when somebody cracks a great one-liner or you savour the complexity of a fine Highland malt - or you take in the aroma and the taste of a fine hand-made cigar. To rub salt into my open wound, a government research project, funded by the taxpayer, discovered that smoking bans in other countries made no real difference to the levels of smoking, and consequently levels of public health.
Smoke here to be barred there: pubs join forces 25 Mar - DRINKERS face being barred from nearly 20 Edinburgh pubs for up to three months if they light up after the smoking ban comes into effect on Sunday.
Death Row Scot says no to cigarettes 25 Mar - DEATH Row Scot Kenny Richey has quit smoking ahead of the introduction of the smoking ban in his native country.
How the new law will affect you 25 Mar - A SUMMARY
The lights go out on a pub pastime 25 Mar -
Ban provokes rush for the shelters 25 Mar - ALMOST 300 businesses across Scotland have applied for shelters, canopies or beer gardens in 2006 as the commercial sector makes last-minute alterations in the run-up to the smoking ban. East Lothian Council spokesman said: "There's been a little confusion as to what actually a designated shelter is ........ .even putting a stub-out bin on the front of a building was proving difficult for some. Iain Brotchie, of the anti-smoking campaign group ASH Scotland, said it was concerned that some of the smoking shelters being promoted would not comply with the new law."But it is a legal activity and if people want to smoke we just want to make sure they do it within the confines of the law."
Let's seize chance to give up for good 25 Mar - Lung cancer kills most patients within a year of diagnosis and 95 per cent of those who develop the disease are smokers
'Nanny state' targets barriers to healthy life 26 Mar - public health experts are now examining what else can be done to help Scotland shrug off its tag as the sick man of Europe ..... Already the Scottish Executive is piloting plans to actively pursue overweight and other at-risk citizens with squads of "health enforcers"
Last gasp as the smoking ban kicks in 26 Mar - Smokers and non-smokers huddled together, their final legal cigarette in a pub just a few hours away ..... "It's the start of a nanny state," said local drinker Neil Innes. "I'm a non-smoker, but it's a choice thing. If I was a smoker then I'd like to think I could smoke where I liked." .............. "There was no democratic discussion," he said. "It feels a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I think in the long term the country has got to have a good look at itself. What's the next thing going to be: anti-drinking?
Hotels to sack staff smelling of smoke 26 Mar - TWO leading luxury hotels in Scotland are threatening to sack staff who smell of smoke. Stewart Maxwell, the Nationalist MSP who initiated the smoke-ban bill, said: "This is ridiculous and I don't think it would be enforceable
More Irish lighting up 27 Mar - Ireland's Office of Tobacco Control annual review showed smoking rates are up from 22 per cent in March 2004 to just over 23 per cent in December last year. The Irish legislation has been blamed for the closure of about 200 pubs
Balmoral ban urged 27 Mar - Members of the Royal family can light up with impunity at Balmoral, despite it being open to the public for four months of the year.
Holyrood pensions dilemma 27 Mar - MSPs who passed the smoking ban have more than £250,000 of public money invested in tobacco firms to boost their pensions
Van man risks fine after ban 27 Mar - ONE in five Scottish van drivers still does not know they would be breaking the law by smoking in a works vehicle, according to a survey published today.
Song aims to inflame row 27 Mar - Smokers are being encouraged to download The Smoke Police (A Resistance Waltz) from the website of lobby group Forest.
McConnell hails ban's success 27 Mar - It's early days yet, but all the indications are that Scots have recognised this is the biggest single step towards improving Scotland's public health that our country can take."
City starts up team of four smoking enforcers 27 Mar - workers now also have the power to hand out fixed penalties and will be checking for compliance with the smoking ban as part of their routine visits to public venues.
Campaigners seek assurance ban won't be extended outdoors 27 Mar - Neil Rafferty, Scottish spokesman for Forest, said: "Smokers must not allow themselves to be bullied and stigmatised any more. Some local authorities now want extend the ban to outdoor areas while some employers seem determined to discriminate against smokers. Enough is enough." ... Economic and Social Research Council, report stated: "Bans in bars and restaurants had the perverse effect of 'displacing' smokers to private places where they are likely to contaminate young children."
City to keep its pavement cafe curfew 27 Mar - Restaurateurs and bar owners are campaigning to have the 9pm curfew on tables and chairs being put out on pavements lifted............ said, would lead to more problems with noise disturbing neighbours and pavements getting overcrowded.
Plenty of grumbles, but few signs of ban being flouted 27 Mar - THERE was sunshine on Leith yesterday - thankfully - as lunchtime drinkers crowded the pavements for their nicotine fix. --- LOTS OF COMMENT
'In time, the benefits will far outweigh the short-term drawbacks' 27 Mar - it is not a ban on smoking, but a limitation on where smokers may light up and a logical extension to policies adopted for locations such as aeroplanes and cinemas, .... Sales in pubs slumped by around 20 per cent when the ban was introduced in Dublin, with many smokers who found it difficult to have a drink without a cigarette fighting back by boycotting pubs and drinking at home. While there is limited clear evidence of the true dangers of passive smoking, it is certainly the case that it can't be doing non-smokers any good
'There's been a great response. It's brilliant not being able to smell smoke' 27 Mar - THE smoking ban was designed in part to protect the health of those working in pubs, so how are they enjoying the fresh air and what do their customers make of it?
Changing the habit of smokers' lifestyle 27 Mar - MORE COMMENT -From social club regulars to international travellers, many found the ban hit them hard.......As they huddled outside on the steps, shielding themselves from the March drizzle, the most devoted nicotine addicts did not mince their words. "It's a scandal. What right have they got to take our human rights?" demanded one woman, to cries of support from her friends.
What a difference a day makes 27 Mar - how much of a difference was there in Edinburgh between Saturday, when smokers happily puffed away, and Sunday, the first night after the ban? Adrian Mather went to three city bars to find out.
Suddenly the air is clearer as Scotland stubs out in public 27 Mar - "It is right for Scotland, for our nation's health, our nation's economy and our tourist industry." - JACK MCCONNELL ......... The Scottish Licensed Trade Association fears 140 pubs could close and that 2,500 jobs may be lost because of the ban.
No smoke and no ire as new ban is eased in 27 Mar - problem-free introduction of the ban was hailed by First Minister Jack McConnell and city leaders as a huge step forward for the country
Smoking ban sparks pile up of shelter applications 28 Mar - MASSIVE backlog of applications for smoking shelters outside pubs has seen just three plans for awnings approved this year. WARNING ON TOBACCO RISKS TO EYESIGHT ---A TOURING campaign warning smokers they are doubling the risk of losing their sight has arrived in Edinburgh
75% of smokers say it's antisocial 29 Mar - MORE than three-quarters of smokers think their habit is antisocial and a fifth feel guilty about their habit, a new survey revealed today
28 calls to 'smoking police' as hotline lights up 29 Mar - Scottish Executive's national smoking ban compliance hotline received 87 calls up until midnight on Monday, 28 of which were to complain about alleged flouting of the new law.
Family blames pensioner's pub death on smoking ban 30 Mar - Jim Donachie, 85, from Dundee, had been forced to leave the Boars Rock pub on Tuesday to have a cigar because of the smoking ban
Manager of bar in smoking probe says system is flawed 30 Mar - Hamilton's Bar and Kitchen in Hamilton Place has been visited twice already this week by the city's blue-jacketed smoking wardens after a member of the public e-mailed the Scottish Executive's clearingtheair.com website claiming he had witnessed people smoking inside the bar.
Smoking ban sparks leap in efforts to quit 31 Mar - smoking ban has triggered a fourfold increase in calls to a national stop smoking helpline ....... Maureen Moore, ASH Scotland, said: "It's great to hear about the rise in calls to Smokeline and we're delighted that people are using the ban as motivation to quit smoking.
Firm fills awning gap in the market for smoker shelters 31 Mar - awning and patio heater firm is opening a depot in the Lothians following a boom in trade brought about by the smoking ban.
110-mile trip to pub no drag for smoker 1 Apr - SCOTTISH smoker is so frustrated with the new ban that he plans to regularly drive more than 100 miles just to have a cigarette with his pint of lager.
Pub bosses hail smoking ban 1 Apr - Of those surveyed, ten bars (40 per cent) said their takings had slipped during the week, in one case by as much as around 50 per cent............ a fifth of the bars questioned said their takings had actually gone up
New breed of refugees breaks for the Border 2 Apr - ban on smoking has created a new breed of refugees, with a number of dedicated smokers going over the border to English pub
Are drinkers raising their glasses to the smoking ban? 2 Apr - various comment -
Trouble fears go up in smoke 3 Apr - first big test of Scotland's smoking ban passed off peacefully at the weekend in the Capital, with smokers happily sheltering from the rain outside packed pubs.
One in five Capital shops selling cigarettes to children 5 Apr - AS MANY as one in five shops in Edinburgh have been caught red-handed selling tobacco to children in a new council crackdown on rogue traders
Hello there, do you smoke here often? 5 Apr - forced to put up with whatever unpleasant weather an Edinburgh spring can throw at us in .... some kind of sub-human class of social leper............ gives smokers the upper hand over their non-smoking peers ...........it's become a great way of meeting new people and, more importantly, flirting.
Enforcers hand out first smoke-ban warnings 6 Apr - Enforcers gave verbal warnings to the owners of two pubs, a theatre and a restaurant where people had been reported ... straw poll conducted by the Evening News of 25 city pubs last week found the vast majority of landlords were enthusiastic about Scotland becoming smoke-free. smoking on the premises. ten bars said their takings had slipped during the week - in one case 50 per cent. But a fifth said their takings had gone up during the period,
Premises cautioned under smoking ban - AS ABOVE
Fly smoker suspected in blaze at city hotel 7 Apr - spokesman for Le Monde said: "We can confirm that a small fire occurred in the toilets of Club Tokyo.
The health bandwagon 9 Apr - The smoking ban was just the beginning. Welcome to the authoritarian world of Scottish Executive health fascism. - Good article
More legislation to punish the innocent and not perpetrators 10 Apr - PRE-PAY ARTICLE -WHILE many have welcomed bars and restaurants in Scotland recently becoming completely smoke-free, some fair-minded people might be less happy that a pub landlord can be fined £2,500 for "permitting" smoking, no matter how unwittingly
Pub sales soaring despite ban on smoking 11 Apr - ...........Jeff Falls, joint owner of the Blind Beggar, was "pleasantly surprised" by the outcome, "Sales last weekend actually increased by 25 per cent. Supplies of Guinness ran out on Wednesday night. .... Kieran O'Halloran, of O'Neill's bar in Aberdeen, said: "I have seen this in Ireland and usually trade in the cities booms. The closures will happen in a few months at the rural pubs, where they lose their local clientèle."
Drinkers stay longer 12 Apr - West Lothian Council spokesman said: "Customers stay longer due to a more pleasant atmosphere.
Nicotine patch sales rocket in wake of smoking ban 12 Apr - Boots said thousands of extra smokers were buying nicotine patches and other therapies in a determined effort to quit.
Smoking shelters get up the nose of heritage campaigners 15 Apr - warned that the smoking shelters which have sprung up outside city pubs threaten to destroy Edinburgh's historic beauty. ......... Last Drop in the Grassmarket, which was ordered to take down two retractable canopies
Council to call time on pub's new awning 17 Apr - Leith ....Dukes Head installed the awning to the front of the bar to create a sheltered area for smokers.
We're cig and tired of litter fines 17 Apr - FINES against smokers caught throwing away cigarette butts have trebled since the smoking ban was introduced
Police hunt smoker who launched angry attack on barman 17 Apr - 23-year-old worker at an Edinburgh pub was punched in the face and had a glass thrown at him by the attacker.
Warders seek ban on prisoners smoking 17 Apr - Prisoners were given one of the only exemptions to the smoking ban, introduced in Scotland last month. But this has led to increasing disquiet among prison officers
Pubs call for more time on awnings after smoke ban 18 Apr - pub landlords had not had enough time to install facilities for smokers
Businesses fume as ongoing issues cloud workplace 18 Apr - Only three applications have so far been approved while a further 80 sit gathering dust.
Theatre to defy on-stage smoke ban 19 Apr - Tomek Borkowy is taking the tough stance against a background of complaints in the theatrical community over the smoking ban. Deborah Arnott, ASH, said yesterday: "When you look round the world and think of artistic freedoms that people are fighting for, I have to say I don't think smoking is my number one. . "There have to be other ways to get across the personality or importance of a character." NOW A DRAMA EXPERT
Leith pub's awning up in smoke 20 Apr - Dukes Head installed the awning to the front of the bar to create a sheltered area where people could smoke following the introduction of the smoking ban.
Smoke ban must be just the start of health reform 20 Apr - PRE-PAY ARTICLE -
Football club criticised for letting smokers light up 21 Apr - attacked for letting its supporters light up on the touchline during a match in a bid to get round the smoking ban. ......... "Ninety minutes is a long time to go without a fag, especially the way we have been playing this season."
Pubs see profits go up in smoke 21 Apr - PUBS in parts of Edinburgh have blamed the smoking ban for a massive 20 per cent drop in takings.--------- Pubs without outside smoking facilities are expected to suffer the most, with many on the brink of going out of business.
Pubs find effects of ban not all heaven scent 23 Apr - Bars across Scotland have installed air fresheners and improved ventilation since the smoking ban was introduced,
Leith pub set to get fingers burned over smoking shelter canopy 24 Apr - Spey Lounge on Leith Walk put up the retractable canopy for customers forced outside because of the smoking ban.
'Star Wars' breaks out again over bar's beer garden plans 25 Apr - TINY New Town pub has sparked a furious row with neighbours over plans to increase the size of its beer garden.
Pubs market healthy after smoking ban 25 Apr - Food-led operations are seeing some very positive results, attracting new customers previously put off by the smoking atmosphere.
Booze and fags habit vanishes in puff of smoke 26 Apr - Silver Wing bar in Sighthill -----bar is packed and the drinks are flowing. On the big-screen TV, the closing minutes of Liverpool's epic FA Cup semi final with Chelsea are being played out to the delight of more than 100 regulars who stand chatting about the game. ........ PERSEVERE BAR, LEITH "There are definitely a lot of unhappy people here,"
Actors to be exempt from English smoking ban 27 Apr - Department of Health said it was considering an exemption for theatres, film crews and television production compani
Bingo firm sees Scottish takings drop after smoke ban 27 Apr - Mecca Bingo said it was likely that players were taking smoking breaks between games rather than spending on slot machines. ........... Wetherspoon converted 49 pubs to non-smoking outlets only to find that sales fell by more than 7 per cent over the Christmas trading period.
Losing numbers for Rank as bingo fans step outside 27 Apr - AS ABOVE
Novelty masks effect of smoke ban on JD pubs 27 Apr - massive marketing campaign launched countrywide to coincide with the ban had "flattered" the company's performance .......... In Ireland, sales were up in the first month and then, overall, came down. Over the first year there, sales fell by between about three to five per cent.
Restaurant in smoke-fine plea 29 Apr - THE owner of a Glasgow restaurant fined for flouting the smoking ban is seeking to overturn the penalty
Carmen set to stub out cigarettes 30 Apr - Bizet's Carmen - which famously features an opening scene with a full chorus seductively inhaling and then slowly exhaling cigarettes - has been reworked to avoid smoking.
Call for ban on tobacco sales to under-18s 1 May - likely to become the next step in Scotland's crusade against smoking .............,Maureen Moore, Ash Scotland and a member of the expert group, said: "Smoking is far worse than drinking. I am in favour of the ban on under-18s being able to buy cigarettes as part of a whole tobacco control strategy. If you raise the age, you are sending out a powerful message about the danger of tobacco and bringing it in line with the restrictions on the sale of alcohol
Scotland's smoking ban is not a big deal, says casino giant 4 May - very modest impact" on Stanley Leisure's three Edinburgh casinos,
Smokers 'behind brawl' 5 May - drinkers forced outside by the smoking ban are believed to have been behind a mass pub brawl in Whitburn.
Profits still go up in smoke 7 May - Brewers and pub landlords have already admitted that fears of a fall in sales of alcohol following the ban were overdone. Now the tobacco companies are reporting an increase in profits as smokers find other places in which to indulge their habit or are prepared to pay higher prices.
Smokers' babies at risk of cancer 12 May - almost half (47 per cent) of those exposed to tobacco in the home had detectable levels of a cancer-causing chemical in their urine. It is the first time that researchers have detected the chemical, known as NNAL, from second-hand smoke in infants
Now motorists to be fined £60 for smoking 15 May - DRIVERS who light up behind the wheel are to be fined £60 in the latest clampdown on smoking. Maureen Moore, ASH Scotland, said: "This is a positive move to make the roads safer. Research suggests drivers who smoke are more at risk of having an accident.
Smoke ban optimism 17 May - ENTERPRISE Inns has sounded a note of optimism about trading since the smoking ban
Enterprise Inns unfazed by smoke ban 17 May - "Like-for-likes are up, but not quite as much as in the rest of the country," he said. Pubs with external seating areas for smokers will gain market share, while poorer quality, drink-led pubs will probably suffer some permanent decline, the company said.
Smoking ban hits bingo giant 17 May - "It's certainly affecting us at the moment. What we don't know is how deep the trough is and how long we've got to go in that trough,
Schoolgirl mum-to-be insists cigarettes not harming baby 18 May - The girl, who is due to give birth within weeks, became pregnant last August, when she was 11, after a drunken night out in Edinburgh.
SNP calls for slow-burn cigarettes to save lives 18 May - Mr Maxwell estimated they could save about ten lives a year.
Saving more than your health 20 May - Quitting smoking could help more than their health: it could also shave 50 per cent or more off life insurance costs.
T in the Park stubs out smoking 21 May - performers at this year's T in the Park are facing yet another threat to any dreams of Spinal Tap-style excess: Scotland's smoking ban.
Smokers buy 11bn fewer cigarettes 24 May - 68 billion cigarettes will be bought in the UK this year - down from 79 billion five years ago, according to the market analyst Mintel.
Unfairly sacked for smoking 24 May - PIZZA delivery driver fired for smoking at the back door has been awarded £4,000 compensation for his unfair sacking.
City venue under fire for rocker's cig at gig 24 May - enforcement officials have written to the Edinburgh Corn Exchange warning them they risk being fined £200 if they let people smoke indoors ...........Pete Doherty . and smoked outside the building, but later lit up as he performed to a sell-out crowd.
Just one cigarette as a child is enough to spark teen addiction 25 May - urge to start smoking can lie dormant for several years, even if a child has just one cigarette at a young age, a new study warns ......... Jennifer Fidler, of Cancer Research UK's health behaviour unit at University College London said: "We know that progression from experimenting with one cigarette to being a smoker can take several years............ Maureen Moore, , said: "In Scotland, 6 per cent of 13-year-olds, and 19 per cent of 15-year-olds, are regular smokers.
M&B drinks to smoking ban as Scots pubs show healthy glow 26 May -
sales in its Scottish bars were up by 5.8 per cent since the ban kicked in on March 26, giving him a "bit more" confidence about its effect elsewhere.......... only been some slowdown in drink sales growth"
Young teens in tobacco shock 27 May - NEARLY one in five 13- to 15-year-old students worldwide use tobacco products
Awning gap in opinion as hotel tries to keep shelter 27 May - have applied to keep an illegal smoking shelter permanently. Bosses at the Thistle Hotel in Manor Place were ordered to tear down the shelter after a storm of protest from neighbours
NHS Lothian ordered to cut number of smokers by fifth 27 May - £1.2 million drive to get 28,000 smokers in the Lothians off cigarettes in the next four years....... ............. Maureen Moore said NHS Lothian had a challenging task ahead. "We have to reach out to smokers who wouldn't normally go to a doctor to get help to stop smoking. We're pleased NHS Lothian is doing that by putting stop-smoking services into new venues like working men's clubs and bingo halls.
Roll-up ciggies not healthier 31 May - QUARTER of smokers wrongly think hand-rolled cigarettes are better for you than ready-mades, Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said: "It's so important that we de-bunk the myths."
Fire sparks fears over smoking ban safety 1 Jun - Scottish Licensed Trade Association spokesman . said: "One of the problems that we're seeing from Ireland is an increase in fire safety concerns, not only in licensed premises but outside as well. It's something we're aware of. "It's just a new element that licensees have to worry about with these new regulations."
Restaurant pays first fine of smoking ban 2 Jun - Peking Inn in Hope Street was hit with a fixed-penalty notice following an incident the day after the ban came into force in March.
Smoking ban fight stubbed out 3 Jun - Alan Bowes, executive chairman of London and Edinburgh Swallow Group, has not ruled out taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Pub chairman stubs out bid to challenge smoking ban 3 Jun - AS ABOVE
The balls to quit fags 7 Jun - Old Waverley Hotel, on Princes Street, is hosting the "Healthvibes" bio-resonance therapy touring clinic on June 21 and 22. Clients hold two brass balls and an inverse electrical current "cancels" the body's need for nicotine
Whose vow went up in smoke and who managed to kick their habit? 12 Jun - Follow up of 4 that tried stopping smoking ......... not smoking as much but it has started to creep back up again .............amazed that it has been so easy,". ............. I don't smoke now," ................. "I've just started smoking again.
Therapy helps smokers stub out a habit hard to break 20 Jun - Bioresonance therapy
£2.9bn going up in smoke 21 Jun - Government is losing billions in VAT each year to tobacco smugglers and more resources are needed to tackle the problem
Lighters-up must pipe down 23 Jun - number of complaints about noise outside pubs and restaurants has risen since the smoking ban came into force.
Row ignites over city's smoke ban noise complaints 24 Jun - Senior councillors are furious at being blamed for a rising tide of complaints over disruption caused by smokers loitering outside Capital licensed premises. They have accused the Executive of not considering the impact of large groups congregating outside and the growth of pavement cafe areas ............. Evening News revealed last month how the Executive had demanded a blanket ban on drinking outdoors be introduced in Edinburgh if the council wanted to tackle antisocial behaviour.
Doctors want legal age to buy cigarettes raised to 18 26 Jun -
Ban on smoking 'has been 99% successful' 26 Jun - Andy Kerr, the health minister, said he was "delighted" with the way Scots had responded to the ban and that it was clear the "overwhelming majority" had embraced the change ......... Cancer Research UK, which claimed almost one Scot in four was more likely to go to pubs and bars than before the ban was brought in. Jean King, a spokeswoman for the charity, said that should reassure pub bosses who had feared it would damage their trade.
US says passive smoking 'fatal' 27 Jun - Surgeon General released a report today saying definitively that secondhand smoke kills people and calling for comprehensive bans on workplace smoking.
No smoke and no fire after cigarette ban 27 Jun - smoke is starting to clear and those who predicted carnage in Scotland's leisure sector as a result of the smoking ban are still searching in vain for the expected casualties.
Number's up at smoke ban bingo halls 28 Jun - Five clubs have closed already, including one in the Capital operated by Carlton Bingo, while a further three are expected to shut in the next few weeks. ...... Bingo Association today warned that between 30 and 40 bingo halls are at risk of closure
Health chiefs hand out perks to stay off cigarettes in pregnancy 29 Jun - WOMEN taking part will get vouchers for groceries and other rewards such as free access to leisure facilities up to a total maximum value of £50 a month.
Clean air brings tiny problem 2 July - Highland pubs are complaining that midges are swarming inside t
Minimum smoking age to rise 2 July - will be raised to 18 in Scotland as early as next spring in the latest attempt ,,...... Members of the expert group - ..... Professor Gerard Hastings, director of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research, University of Stirling, - Maureen Moore from Ash Scotland, - Labour MSP Duncan McNeil - .............. + ,Off-duty taxi driver fined after daughter lights up ....... 61-year-old driver was landed with a £200 fine for allowing Amanda, a civil servant, to smoke in his taxi, even though he was off duty.
Smokers face rise in legal age to buy cigs 3 July - minimum age for buying cigarettes could be raised to 18 in Scotland as early as next spring
Smokers face clampdown over taking drinks outside 4 Jul - Council chiefs in East Lothian are to write to every pub, club and hotel in the region to clamp down on people causing a nuisance by drinking and smoking on pavements outside bars.
Bingo halls suffer 14% slump and pubs feel pinch over smoke ban 5 July - SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has been blamed for a 14 per cent drop in sales at Mecca bingo clubs and a 2 per cent fall in pubs owned by the brewing group Belhaven ........... pub group Greene King, which owns Belhaven, revealed its like-for-like sales business in Scotland was down 2.2 per cent since May, although it said that performance was better than expected. In contrast, sales from its estate south of the Border were positive, with growth of 5.3 per cent.
Belhaven gives Green King cheer on smoking ban 5 July - ... It said it appeared the impact of the smoking ban north of the Border was being partly offset by food sales.
Tobacco firms spared $145bn damages 7 July = FLORIDA'S Supreme Court yesterday rejected a $145 billion (£79 billion) punitive damage award against tobacco companies for injuring smokers,
No butts - Fringe show is issued with smoke-ban warning 11 July - Producers of Bill Hicks: Slight Return, about the famous comedian and heavy smoker who died of cancer, promised to bring back their show "in defiance of the smoking ban".
Link between exposure to smoke and bad behaviour 13 July - CHILDREN whose mothers smoked while pregnant begin to exhibit behavioural problems as early as 18 months of age ....... we also highlight a window of opportunity for interventions to alter the course of these problems
Smoking tips death balance 14 July - SMOKING is to blame for half of the social inequality difference in male death rates
Mel Smith flicks V at smoking ban 16 July - Mel Smith, the comedian, actor and director, has flashed a giant Churchillian V-sign at the Scottish Parliament by threatening to smoke on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival............. Maureen Moore, Ash Scotland, said: " This law was brought in to protect people in the workplace. It is the law in Scotland and an actor is not above the law. While he or she is here they just have to adhere to it. "When actors take drugs on stage they don't really inject. And when they have sex on stage they don't really have sex. So why use real smoke when there's a real health risk to actors and the audience?"
Long after Hitler, totalitarianism reappears in a puff of smoke 18 July - PRE-PAY ARTICLE
Fringe boss eyes smoking ban change 19 July - FRINGE director Paul Gudgin today said he would lobby for a change in the legislation that bans smoking onstage in theatres if performers felt it was interfering with their work. ...... Brian Monteith, the former Tory independent MSP, said the ban should be lifted for theatre productions. He was reported as saying: "Scotland is the only place in the world where smoking is banned for actors on stage.
Smoking ban burns into Wetherspooon's figures 19 July - not specifically citing the ban on smoking in enclosed public places such as pubs for the decline, the group said that overall like-for-like sales across its 654-strong estate were up, but in Scotland they had slipped over the final quarter of the trading year.
Wetherspoon suffers post-smoking-ban dip 20 July - AS ABOVE ...... performance mirrors the experience in the Republic of Ireland, where sales rose initially following the smoking ban before the industry suffered a downturn in trade.
Asda raises age for buying cigarettes to 18 20 July - The supermarket's staff will ask customers who look under 21 to prove their age before selling them tobacco.
Casino giant breathing easy after smoking ban 20 July - STANLEY Leisure, Britain's biggest casino operator, said today that its business in Scotland had not been affected by the smoking ban.
Cigarette butts top beach clean-up rubbish 21 July - CIGARETTES and their filters topped the list of rubbish items removed from beaches worldwide during last year's annual international coastal clean-up,
Bar's smoking area set for two-year all-clear 24 July - A smoking area will not generate the same level of noise or disturbance as can be expected from a beer garden."
No smoke without ire as pubs to face probe 25 July - BARS and clubs in the Capital are to face repeat visits from licensing officials after noisy outdoor smokers sparked a string of complaints from angry neighbours
Capital pub wins its battle over awning for smokers 28 July = won a battle with the city council over plans to build a smoking shelter.
Pub smokes out comfort 31 July -The Moorings on Hopetown Road, was given the money by pub owner Punch Taverns to refurbish the bar's old beer garden.
ASH and trade group in row over impact of smoking ban 31 July - Moore acknowledged that it was too early to produce definite results, but added: "All the indicators point to the measure being a great success.
City nightlife is best bar none Aug 2 - "Edinburgh's secret is having many nightspots which are one big building with everything in them - a smoking room, a bar and a nightclub. .............. many have dedicated smoking rooms,
Anti-smoking ad flak - Aug 6 -ASH "We are not an organisation that exists to persecute smokers".
Hugging can expose infants to smoking health risk - Aug 8 - Scientists also found that infants can be exposed to "third-hand smoke" just from touching furniture and other objects in the home !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Star under fire for smoking? You're Havana laugh Aug 8 - WHEN Mel Smith abandoned his plans to light up a cigar on stage, he thought he was finally complying with Scottish smoking regulations. But the comedian is now facing a new investigation by council officials amid allegations that yesterday's photocall - when he posed leaning out of his dressing room window, puffing on a cigar - was against the rules.
Battle of the Fringe runs out of puff as Churchill surrenders his cigar Aug 8 -Key quote "They told us if we proceeded they would make an example of us. I would get fined personally and would never be able to hold a licence again. I do think it's crazy." - Mr Burdett-Coutts, Fringe producer
Smoke ban wins huge support among night partiers - Aug 9 -More than three-quarters of residents now think the ban on lighting up in places such as pubs, clubs and restaurants has had a positive effect on their experience of going out, says the MORI poll. + much more back-slapping by the council.
Public warms to smoking ban - Aug 10 - AS ABOVE
Bloomberg puts up $125m to combat smoking - Aug 16
Tobacco 'multiplies risk of heart attack - however you consume it' - Aug 18 - More wasted money for rubbish science.
Pupils reveal all in biggest ever survey of views - Aug 18 - Just setting the stage for more Nanny do-gooding!!!
Star Bar wins beer garden war - Aug 21 - A TINY pub is set to win a beer garden battle with its New Town neighbours.
Smoking ban hits Tom 'n' Jerry - Aug 22 - Madness!!!!!!
Health board reveals it has most diehard smokers - Aug 23 - SMOKERS in Glasgow are more addicted than others across the UK
Smoke ban clearing pubs of punters - Aug 23 - SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has sparked a massive stay-away by pub regulars,
Be butt of smoke test - Aug 24 - NHS Lothian smoking cessation coordinator Fiona Moore said: "The carbon monoxide tests are always popular and we expect lots of interest."
Brewery snub for smoke ban supporter MP Aug 25 - Anne Moffat, who represents East Lothian at Westminster, claimed she had been barred from speaking to staff at the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar because she thought the smoking ban was a good thing.
Probe after Smoking Stone lights up at Hampden - Aug 27 -
Richards cleared of cigarette ban breach - Aug 28
Fringe chief's herbal remedy to beat smoking ban on stage - Aug 28 - Too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Warning over 'smoke-easy' lock-ins - Aug 29 - With over 400 comments
£50 smoking fines doled out to cabbie and office worker - Aug 30 -
Children of smokers are linked to bad behaviour - Aug 31 - "There are some socioeconomic factors linked to these findings - smokers generally have less good jobs than non-smokers and have higher unemployment. - We all know this but you can be sure the headline will be 'trotted out' time & time again to justify someones pet regulations.
Some would claim the legislation reeks of the Nanny State - Aug 31 - "THERE can be little doubt that of all the policies introduced since devolution, the ban on smoking in public places has been the greatest success." -------------- We know what side you're on!!!!!!!!!
Smoking ban takes toll on Greene King's Scots sales - Sept 1 - "...........said today that the ban on smoking in Scottish pubs was continuing to hit sales north of the Border - "
Bingo and pub firms hit by Scots ban on smoking - Sept 2 - Mecca & Green King
Bingo firms calling for £10m rebate - Sept 3 -
Malodour on the dancefloor - Sept 4 -
No smoke ban woes at Punch Taverns ... yet - Sept 7 -
Post-ban moves to keep firms breathing - Sept 9 - "As expected, the impact has not been good. "
Wetherspoon pays £40,000 per pub to counter smoke ban - Sept 9 - ".......£40,000 on each of its Scottish outlets to combat an 11 per cent slump in profits in the three months to the end of July, as the smoking ban bit"
Minimum smoking age limit to rise to 18 - Sept 10 -
Up in smoke - Sept 10 - "The overall trend is away from tobacco in society, but it's slow because it has such a pervasive hold," says Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Scotland. "It's the only legally available consumer product that kills half the people who use it in the way the manufacturers intend." ---- Where do these figures come from??
It's time for nanny to just pipe down - by Neil Rafferty - Sept 15 - Great Article "But does every pub and private club have to be smoke-free? Why can't there be some places where people can socialise and smoke at the same time? "
Cumming hits out at Jack's 'racist' own goal - Sept 17 - Some comment about 'new' Scotland
Wales follows Scotland with smoking ban - Sept 20
French favour smoking ban - Sept 22 - Oh No they don't
Drinkers toast fresh air in wake of smoking ban - Sept 26
Hundreds of smokers fined in wake of ban - Sept 26
Smokers gain judge's backing for legal fight -Sept 26
Doorway smokers risking fines - Sept 26
MSPs look at calls to extend smoking ban - Sept 27
Food sales surge at M&B but smoke ban costs cash - Sept 27
Smoking ban is no success - Scottish letter
MSPs reject bid to extend smoking ban - Sept 28
Interfering Holyrood is assembling a totalitarian jigsaw - GERALD WARNER
Smoking ban is no drag on pub values - Oct 4 -
Thwarted male smokers identified as the archetypal air rage passengers - Oct 8
Pub ban not a factor for most planning to give up smoking - Oct 10 -A study carried out for pharmacy group, Boots, found that 18.1 per cent of smokers polled were planning to give up and a further 42.4 per cent said that they would "possibly" do so. (SO MUCH LESS THAN ASH POLLS!!!)
Professor calls for 20p rise in cost of packet of cigarettes - Oct 11 -A price increase is the best hope the government has of reaching its target of cutting the number of adult smokers to 21 per cent by 2010, Professor Robert West, the director of tobacco studies at Cancer Research UK, said. --SO WHY A BAN?
Smoking ban linked to better health for bar staff - Oct 11 - a study of asthmatics?
City's pub landlords failing to stub out noisy street smokers - Oct 11
Lib Dems stub out bid to lift smoking age - Oct 16
Crackdown on rowdy drinkers - Oct 18 - Strict new licensing rules will mean that customers will be banned from taking alcohol on to the street after 11pm.
Smoking ban leads to increased littering in Highlands - Oct 26 - Blame the smokers!!!
Hotel's smoking shelter removed after complaints - Oct 27
Under-18s face a smoking ban - Nov 2
Smoking ban good for sales says pub firm - Nov 3 - but when you look deeper .................?
Smoke ban will make lung cancer 'a thing of the past' - Nov 6 - Presenting his first annual report, Dr Burns said: "Imagining Scotland with no lung cancer is not trivial speculation.
Protesters kick up a stink over tobacco ban - Nov 7 - No roll-over by the French
S&N sparkles but smoking ban casts cloud - Nov 7 -But the Edinburgh-based brewer warned that it expects to be adversely affected by the introduction of the smoking ban in England and Wales next year.
New passive smoking cancer link - Nov 9





AN ON-GOING PROJECT but a clear picture is emerging - The Anti-smoking lobby is loud and quoted every day - Exaggerations galore so we can check back in months to come. ........... all the news of smoking is bad - not a single (sorry one mention of a REASON for smoking) AND some figures coming out.

Social problems
Sporting interests struggle to stimulate new funding as tobacco's days of coughing up set to end - 27 Oct 2002
GPs 'too harassed to help smokers' - 10 Mar 2003

No Evidence for increased smoking at home?????????????#
More may die in fires after smoking ban, ministers told - 8 Dec 2004