November 2010

The first time I begged an older friend to buy me cigarettes, I was clear what type I wanted: Benson and Hedges Gold, of course. It didn’t matter that I coughed my way through one of the strongest types of tobacco available, I had the Liam and Noel Gallagher seal of approval: my What’s The [...]

A Musselbourgh-based youth project has been awarded a share of £1,500 prize money after staging a successful anti-smoking project. The Bridges Project is one of two youth schemes that have earned a Crofton Award from the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS), in partnership with ASH Scotland, in recognition of their achievements in reducing [...]

Tobacco companies could be forced to package their cigarettes in plain brown wrappers as part of the government’s plan to de-glamorise and stop young people taking up smoking. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is investigating the viability of introducing what would be one of the most radical public health measures ever implemented in the UK. [...]

Two new studies combine to show putting tobacco out of sight in shops not only changes young people’s attitude to smoking but doesn’t result in retailers losing money. The research has been published in Tobacco Control. It was carried out in the Republic of Ireland where tobacco advertising and displays of cigarettes were banned and [...]

In a letter to the Observer the heads of four of Britain’s leading public health bodies have expressed concerns at reports that the government is to water down plans to ban tobacco displays in shops. Health campaigners say the large displays of cigarettes behind shop counters influence young people. But the tobacco lobby has fiercely [...]