 FROM
THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Sometimes no news is good news!
As of this issue of Tobacco Control Update I have still not been informed of the outcome of the Smokefree Coalition's
complaint to the Commerce Commission on light and mild cigarettes and second-hand smoke.
Actually that is good news (I think). In my experience regulatory authorities are pretty quick to let you know if they
aren't going to investigate.
The case has been considerably strengthened in the last few days with some significant developments. First ASH has sent in a
substantial supporting document to the Commerce Commission in respect to the Smokefree Coalition complaint. Secondly Prof.
Janet Hoek publicly explained the issue in last Friday's Dominion Post. We feature her comments in this Update
for those who were unable to read the Dominion Post.
I am thankful in both respects for the extra pressure this provides.
I also want to thank those of you who have been in contact with me to send
off letters of support. Those of you who haven't done so - it's not too late!
Give me a call on 04 472 0157, or email me:
director@sfc.org.nz. We have prepared some background information for you
to base your letter on, or you can send in the pre-drafted sample letter. It
takes only a few minutes of your time, a piece of paper, an envelope, and a 45
cent stamp.
I hear lots of "korero" about holding the industry to account as I go around the traps. Here is a way we can do it.
Have a good fortnight.
Mark Peck
Director
Smokefree Coalition
IN THIS ISSUE:
- 'Light' and 'mild' cigarettes - what's in a name?
- New peel-off cigarette warnings slammed
- Tobacco control groups warn of industry delay tactics
- Smoke ban deters gamblers
- Smokefree Symposium 2006
- Smokefree Cars
- Quit Group Update - July 2006
- 'Easy way' campaigner Allen Carr diagnosed with lung cancer
- Why Carr's method works for some
- Path to addiction shorter than expected
- Babies may absorb smoke residue in the home
- Blast from the past
- Quotable quotes
- Media themes
'LIGHT' AND 'MILD' CIGARETTES - WHAT'S IN A NAME?
 The Smokefree Coalition is taking British American Tobacco (New Zealand) to the Commerce Commission, alleging the company
is misleading the public into thinking 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes are less harmful than regular brands. Janet Hoek, a
Professor at Massey University's Department of Marketing takes a look at the issues.
In the past, New Zealand has led the world in protecting its citizens from the tobacco industry's marketing practices,
but we're no longer keeping up with best practice. Australia, our arch rival on the sports field, is now ahead of us in tobacco
regulation.
National and international research shows many smokers are misled by words
such as 'light' and 'mild', which tobacco companies use to describe some of the
cigarettes they sell. To these smokers, the words 'light' and 'mild' convey two messages:
cigarettes labelled this way are safer and less harmful because they deliver less tar, and they're less addictive, because they
contain less nicotine.
While it is true that so-called 'light' or 'mild' cigarettes technically deliver less tar, several studies have shown that
smokers who use light and mild cigarettes alter the way they smoke. They draw more heavily, block ventilation holes around
the cigarette filter, puff more frequently, and sometimes smoke more cigarettes. The net result is that they have not reduced
the harm they're exposed to, even though they believe they have. Nevertheless, international research suggests that because
some smokers believe 'light' or 'mild' cigarettes are safer, they switch to these instead of quitting.
Industry documents from as early as the 1970s reveal that tobacco companies knew smokers of 'light' and 'mild' cigarettes
engaged in these compensatory behaviours. In these situations, smokers are not only deceived, they're exposed to continued risk.
If consumers believe they're getting a benefit when the company knows they are not, then the company is misleading those
consumers.
The international public health community has become increasingly concerned that 'light' and 'mild' are misleading terms to
use in connection with cigarettes. As part of a global initiative, the World Health Organization developed a Framework Convention
on Tobacco Control of which New Zealand is a signatory. Article 11 of the FCTC makes specific reference to 'light' and 'mild'
and calls upon signatories to ensure that tobacco labelling and packaging are not misleading or deceptive.
New Zealand has been slow to respond to this call to action, even though the grounds for action appear well-established.
Recent research at Massey University revealed that young people, the group most at risk of becoming addicted smokers, were
often confused about what 'light' and 'mild' meant. Over half the 468 students interviewed thought 'light' cigarettes had
less tar than regular cigarettes, and around a third agreed that 'light' cigarettes would be easier to quit.
These findings should concern regulators charged with protecting consumers from misleading and deceptive practices.
Internationally, other countries have acted on the now well-documented evidence that 'light' and 'mild' deceive smokers.
The European Union has already banned these terms, a decision that the European Court of Justice re-iterated in 2002.
More recently, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission received enforceable undertakings from British American
Tobacco, Philip Morris, and Imperial Tobacco that will see the removal of 'light' and 'mild' from Australian cigarette
packaging, and an industry funded corrective campaign.
The statistics on smoking-related deaths and illnesses are well-known. Around 4700 New Zealanders die from smoking each year -
that's over ten times the annual road toll. Many smokers have been misled into believing that smoking a 'light' or 'mild' brand
will reduce the likelihood that they'll be one of these statistics. The number of people affected, the widespread evidence of
deception, and the appalling consequences of smoking, constitute a compelling case for a ban on any terms that mislead smokers
about the risks they face.
Dominion Post, 11 August 2006
NEW PEEL-OFF CIGARETTE WARNINGS SLAMMED
Anti-smoking campaigners are furious over the launch of trendy new cigarette tins with removable health warnings in New
Zealand. "The tins are cool, attractive and have an easy to peel off Ministry of Health warning," ASH NZ director Becky Freeman said.
ASH NZ and the Cancer Society say the move is an attempt to undermine proposed new graphic health warnings, and exploits a
loophole in the law. The Ministry of Health is investigating whether the new, peel-off labels are illegal but had yet to see a
tin, a statement said.
Ms Freeman said the Benson & Hedges tins would appeal to young, vulnerable smokers, who could remove the warnings.
She called on the Ministry to crack down and make peel-off labels illegal after its current review on cigarette warnings.
"We know that an average smoker will open their cigarette packet about 15 times a day, and we know the number of exposures to
a warning makes a big difference to whether the warning is ignored."
With the move, British American Tobacco was undermining new labels which will feature the Quitline number. "The more people
that have that number, the less customers they are going to have."
The tins would be very attractive for young people and cost $10.20 - the same as a packet, she said. In Australia, the tins
went on sale just months before graphic warnings became law.
Cancer Society spokesperson Belinda Hughes said there was "no doubt" the tins were a marketing ploy by tobacco companies to
undermine health warnings. "They are clearly gearing up for the new graphic health warnings with this strategy. We call on the
Government to implement strict legislation that will close loopholes that the tobacco companies will exploit. We want assurances
that irremovable picture warnings will be placed on all tobacco packaging, including tins."
International research showed that children who are more receptive to tobacco company marketing are also more susceptible
to start smoking, ASH said. Nobody at British American Tobacco's New Zealand office was available to comment.
Stuff, 5 August 2006
And the editor of the Timaru Herald had this to say on 8 August: "Exactly," smirk the cigarette producers.
And no doubt their reading of human nature is right. The tins will be viewed as cool. The labels will be peeled off, all made
possible by charging no more than existing cardboard packaging.
But the companies are being too smart for their own good. With an image such as theirs they don't need to appear even more
sneaky. And surely this is an admission the new labelling is scary, and as no one's arguing about its accuracy, it can lead to only
one conclusion: The companies still care far less about their customers' health than their customers' wallets.
TOBACCO CONTROL GROUPS WARN OF INDUSTRY DELAY TACTICS
Cigarette packets designed to shock people into quitting smoking could soon appear in New Zealand but anti-smoking groups
are warning that tobacco companies may use delaying tactics to slow their introduction.
Graphic warnings on cigarette packets in Australia were introduced in March and are being hailed as a huge success.
Quitline, a free phone service for smokers, credits the warnings with an 86 percent rise in callers for the month after
the campaign was launched. But Australia's anti-smoking group ASH says tobacco companies have employed deliberate stalling tactics in an effort to
delay and weaken the warnings.
"I have no doubt that the tobacco companies will use the same tactics in New Zealand as they've used here in Australia.
They will tell the government they need more time, that they need a couple more years. They'll try and downsize and reduce
the impact of the graphic warnings," says ASH spokesperson Anne Jones.
Jones also says the New Zealand government needs to be precise with legislation to avoid loopholes that tobacco
companies will exploit. She says that the delay in Australia gave companies a chance to minimise the warnings by producing
branded tins for storing cigarettes, without graphics, which went on sale months before the warnings became law.
The Ministry of Health is likely to make recommendations in the next couple of months on how and when graphic warnings
come into place in New Zealand.
TVNZ, 3 August 2006
SMOKE BAN DETERS GAMBLERS
The smoking ban in pubs and clubs has dramatically affected gambling, slashing spending on 'pokies' by 12 percent and
cutting new calls to the Gambling Helpline by a third.
Simply having to go outside for a smoke has apparently made many gamblers stop and go home. "The cycle is broken. They
go out for a cigarette and don't come back," said Clubs New Zealand president Brian Smith. Poker machine revenue at his
Bream Bay Club in Northland fell 28 percent in the year after smoking was banned in December 2004.
A Nelson study by Problem Gambling Foundation clinical director Philip Townshend has found that smokers dropped from 42
percent of people coming for help in late 2004 to 28 percent late last year. Since most gamblers seeking treatment played
machines, "perhaps this means that those problem gamblers were effectively treated by the smokefree environment legislation."
In New Zealand, unlike other places that have banned smoking, the drop appears to have stuck. Gambling Helpline chief
executive Krista Ferguson said calls from new gamblers fell 33 percent in 2005 and had stayed down this year.
Dr Townshend said this might be because New Zealand was unique in having equal numbers of men and women seeking help
for gambling, due to the dominance of poker machines. "I wonder whether [another factor] might be that in other jurisdictions
they have not enforced the non-smoking law as well as we have. If you go into a bar now, there really is no smoking."
He added: "All the overseas people told us that this [drop] would just be a temporary thing, but it doesn't seem to
be that temporary in New Zealand."
Gambling and smoking are closely linked here. Health Ministry statistics show that 58 percent
of problem gamblers in 2002-03 smoked daily, compared with only 22.5 percent of the rest of the population.
Internal Affairs spokesman Trevor Henry said preliminary figures indicated a 12 percent drop in poker machine revenue
in pubs and clubs from $1027 million in 2004-05 to $903 million in the latest year. This would cut pub charity payouts to
sports and community groups from $360 million in 2004-05 to around $300 million.
New Zealand Herald, 5 August 2006
SMOKEFREE SYMPOSIUM 2006
This year's symposium, Facing the Challenges with Fresh Thinking, will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Wellington,
on 16 - 17 October.
The Smokefree Symposium provides a forum for: sharing research and experiences in tobacco control; discussing future
directions and priorities; networking; and learning and contributing to improved coordination and cooperation within the sector.
Day One:
Theme 1 - Future Directions for Tobacco Control
Theme 2 - Tobacco Displays
Day Two:
Theme 3 - Implementing the Reducing Smoking Initiation Framework
There will also be special interest meetings and a number of speakers including a minister's address from Hon. Damien O'Conner.
Early registration received before 8 September 2006
$135.00 ($120.00 + GST).
Registration received after 8 September 2006 and before 9 October 2006
$202.50 ($180.00+ GST).
The Symposium is brought to you by the National Smokefree/Auahi Kore Working Group, and the Tobacco Control Research
Strategy Steering Group.
For further information, a programme overview and brochures please contact:
Health Sponsorship Council
PO Box 2142
Wellington
Email:
info@hsc.org.nz
Phone: 04 472 5777
SMOKEFREE CARS
A new message is being added to the second-hand smoke campaign, encouraging parents and caregivers to make cars that
children travel in smokefree at all times.
The key messages are:
- Second-hand smoke is dangerous to the health of children
- Ventilation does not work (ie. winding down windows does not rid a car of
the poisons contained in second-hand smoke)
- Poisons linger long after the smoke has disappeared.
The cars message will be communicated via television, radio and print advertising and the new television commercial
goes to air on Sunday 10 September. A range of resources to support the campaign will be available from the Health Sponsorship Council.
We're also keen to hear about any community initiatives promoting smokefree homes and cars.
For campaign information or to discuss your local initiative, please contact Marija (marija@hsc.org.nz) or Amie (amie@hsc.org.nz) at the Health Sponsorship Council.
QUIT GROUP UPDATE - JULY 2006
A total of 3,117 callers were registered with the Quitline in July 2006. Nearly 60 percent of these callers were female (1741)
and just over 42 percent were male (1318).
23.4 percent of registered callers were Māori (729), 76 percent were New Zealand European (2369) and 5.4 percent of the
callers identified themselves as Pacific peoples.
The highest proportion of callers was in the 30-34 years age bracket, followed by the 20-24 and 25-29 years age groups.
Numbers of callers registered with the Quitline by month (registered callers are those who receive a
quit pack and are offered advice and support).
'EASY WAY' CAMPAIGNER ALLEN CARR DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER
 The anti-smoking campaigner Allen Carr, whose self-help books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, has been
diagnosed with incurable lung cancer.
Carr, 73, a former smoker, gave up when he was 50 after smoking more than 100 a day for 33 years. He now believes passive
smoking may have contributed to his illness after spending the past 23 years in the company of smokers keen to learn his
method of quitting.
Carr said: "I have been the happiest man in the world since I stopped smoking 23 years ago and I still feel the same way.
This has come as a shock but I remain very upbeat."
The author, a multi-millionaire, discovered he had the disease last week after a regular health check picked up the cancer.
John Dicey, Carr's business partner and publicist, said it was unclear whether the smoking clinics he has held over the
past two decades had contributed to his illness. "He spent many years in smoke-filled rooms delivering his method to smokers -
it is part of the clinic that people actually smoke during them," said Dicey. "He is not drawing any conclusions, but Allen
feels that if that did contribute it is a price worth paying as we estimate he has cured around 10 million smokers."
Carr, a former accountant, is not planning to give up work.
"He is enthusiastic about the time he has left and is doubling his work, which is fabulous," said Dicey. "The message is
not that it was not worth giving up because he got the disease anyway, but that the happiest years of his life were those
once he had stopped."
Carr started teaching his pioneering approach to quitting the habit after stopping almost overnight himself. It urges
smokers not to use willpower to resist cigarettes but to lose their fear of a life without nicotine.
His book, Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, was first published in 1985 and has been sold in more than 45 countries.
It has become a bible for addicts all over the world and has been followed by a series of self-help books on diets, giving up
alcohol and beating the fear of flying. Carr also built up the Easyway organisation, which operates clinics in more than 30
countries.
He claims his method has a 53 percent success rate after 12 months compared with less than 5 percent for those using
willpower alone. Among his followers are celebrities such as Ruby Wax, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Richard Branson, who
have all endorsed his method publicly.
"It was such a revelation that instantly I was freed from my addiction," said Hopkins.
Sunday Times, 30 July 2006
WHY CARR'S METHOD WORKS FOR SOME
As anti-smoking guru Allen Carr begins to fight lung cancer, millions of people around the world thank him for helping them
quit cigarettes. So what's behind the Carr method?
Something of a legend in anti-smoking circles, Allen Carr has done more than almost anyone else to help those who want to
stop smoking. He has even turned his recent lung cancer diagnosis into an opportunity, saying he sees his illness as a way to
encourage more people to quit.
So, what's different about his approach? One ex-smoker explains how Carr helped him quit.
Martin Asser:
I'd been smoking for 15-odd years when I tried the Allen Carr method. I picked up smoking as a teenager, at parties and
that sort of nonsense, and was smoking about 20 a day as I got older. I gave up a couple of times - once for 18 months - using
patches and sheer willpower, but always went back on the fags.
Then, when I was 30, I developed a bit of a wheeze and went to get my lungs X-rayed. I resolved to give up for good the day
after I picked up the results. It was 14 July 2000 and I haven't had a cigarette since.
No one led me to the Allen Carr method - I bought a couple of books on quitting, of which his was one. I read about half
of it on the first day, and just quit there and then.
Carr's actually a very annoying writer but what he does is tell you, in a very repetitive way, that you are not smoking for
enjoyment; you are smoking because you are addicted. The idea of the book is that you keep smoking while you read it so you
can analyse why you do it.
I used to think I enjoyed smoking, but Carr made me realise that I really, perhaps, enjoyed one or two cigarettes a day -
the rest were just feeding an addiction to nicotine. The brilliant thing about his method is that instead of going "cold turkey"
and feeling deprived, you feel you're doing something positive. That gets you through the first three days, which are the hardest.
I've never weakened; never wanted to smoke again, even though I work a lot in the Middle East where smoking's everywhere.
I've persuaded ten others to quit using his method and the only problem now is I have to be careful not to be an Allen Carr bore.
BBC News Magazine, 2 August 2006
PATH TO ADDICTION SHORTER THAN EXPECTED
 The road from those nervous initial puffs of a cigarette to full-fledged addiction is a lot shorter for teenagers than
previously thought, Montreal-based researchers say.
Dr. Jennifer O'Loughlin, a professor in McGill University's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational
Health, said signs of physical addiction can occur as soon as five months after a first puff.
For the past six years, O'Loughlin has been leading a study of 1,293 students from 10 Montreal-area high schools in an
attempt to better understand smoking patterns among teens.
"Our work clearly shows that kids are reporting symptoms of nicotine addiction very, very early after onset," O'Loughlin
said. "I think this paper really challenges the way people have been thinking about the development of nicotine dependence."
The study, to be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggests that signs of nicotine dependence can
develop well before a teenager smokes cigarettes daily, or even weekly. "Young people, their parents and health professionals
must be made aware that symptoms of nicotine dependence can manifest long before regular smoking. Once cravings are
experienced, the likelihood of progression to daily use and tobacco dependence is greatly increased," the study says.
The study created a map of 12 addiction "milestones" - six for cigarette use (such as first inhalation and daily
smoking) and six for symptoms of nicotine dependence (such as physical addiction and withdrawal symptoms). "This gives
a tool to practitioners to be able to almost diagnose where the individual is in terms of the person's trajectory towards
dependence," O'Loughlin said.
Past research has suggested that the progression from first puff to daily use takes between two and three years,
while full-fledged dependence takes even longer.
O'Loughlin said that given how quickly novice smokers can become addicted, public health officials need to change
the focus of traditional anti-smoking campaigns. "We need to understand the early natural forces so that we can come
up with better prevention," she said. "Our prevention is just not working."
She stressed that a teenager's complaints about cigarette cravings should never be taken lightly, even if the teen
doesn't smoke regularly. "Somebody needs to be paying attention to this, or this kid is going to land up as a smoker
for another 15 to 20 years."
CBC News, 31 July 2006
BABIES MAY ABSORB SMOKE RESIDUE IN THE HOME
As any parent knows, crawling babies explore the world by touching - and tasting - anything they can get their wet
little hands on. If their parents use tobacco, that curiosity may expose babies to what some doctors are calling 'third hand'
smoke - particles and gases given off by cigarettes that cling to walls, clothes and even hair and skin. Up to 90 percent of
the nicotine in cigarette smoke sticks to nearby surfaces, says Georg Matt, a professor at San Diego State University.
Preliminary research by Matt and others suggests the same chemicals that leave a stale cigarette odour on clothes and
upholstery also can be swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin of non-smokers. Smoke residue may linger for hours,
days or months, depending on the ventilation and the level of contamination. In some cases, contaminants may need to be removed
by rigorously cleaning or replacing wallpaper, rugs and drapes, Matt says.
Matt cautions that his research needs to be confirmed by other studies. But his work suggests that babies may take in
nicotine and other chemicals just by hugging their mothers - even if their mothers never light up next to them.
In his small study of 49 infants under 13 months old, Matt found nicotine in the air and dust throughout smokers' homes,
even when parents smoked only outside. Tests also found a nicotine byproduct, cotinine, in babies' urine and inside shafts of
their hair. As expected, babies whose parents smoked around them had the highest cotinine levels - nearly 50 times higher
than the babies of non-smokers, according to the study.
Smokers who tried to shield their infants had only partial success, Matt says. The babies of parents who smoked only
outside had cotinine levels seven times higher than in the infants of non-smokers, the study showed.
Adults also may be exposed to significant smoke residue if they rent cars, hotel rooms or apartments that have soaked
up years of smoke, Matt says. He worries more about youngsters, however, because they may be exposed day and night for years.
Children also may be at greater risk because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more chemicals, says Jonathan
Winickoff, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Crawling babies may take in chemicals through
their skin.
Though scientists have extensive evidence about the damage caused by second-hand smoke, they know relatively little
about the potential risks of third-hand exposure, says Brett Singer, a scientist at California's Lawrence Berkeley
Laboratory. "The million-dollar question is: How dangerous is this?" Singer says. "We can't say for sure this is a health hazard."
Matt agrees that doctors should study children - ideally for 10 or 15 years or more - to see whether low levels of
smoke residue worsen asthma or harm the development of a child's lungs.
USA Today, 6 August
BLAST FROM THE PAST
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I want low tar. But taste is a must.
Brand: Winston - RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. (1977)
Full Text: I want low tar. But taste is a must. I wanted less tar. But not less taste. I found Winston Lights. I get the
low tar numbers I want, and the taste I like. If it wasn't for Winston Lights, I wouldn't smoke.
Retrieved from: 20th Century Tobacco Ad Collection Collected by Richard Pollay, catalogued by Roswell Park Cancer Institute
http://roswell.tobaccodocuments.org/pollay/dirdet.cfm
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QUOTABLE QUOTES
"The anti smoking legislation is causing massive disenchantment and contributing to rising teenager drinking
binges and unemployment numbers. Now that smokers are regarded as tenth rate citizens, the young are turning to the drug
'P' for stimulation because it's cool!"
Lance Broughton, "the world's most famous unknown author"
http://www.lbrought.com/Smoking_debate.html
"I actually developed throat nodules from all the passive smoking that I've done over the years. I stopped smoking in public.
It wasn't until about four or five years ago that I got my voice back and got back into jazz."
Queenstown jazz vocalist Hine Marchand
Queenstown Mirror, 2 August 2006
"We strongly oppose warning labels on cigarette packs for several reasons: first and foremost, warning labels may improperly
imply that it has been scientifically established that smoking causes disease."
R.J. Reynolds, 1981
"The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that
smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honourable form of suicide."
Kurt Vonnegut, American author
MEDIA THEMES
Big tobacco flicks cash at ban on pub smoking
 Tobacco companies are making secret payments to Victorian hotels with beer gardens and roof-top terraces to ensure that
smokers are accommodated once strict smoking bans come into force next year. An investigation by The Age has revealed that
tobacco companies are also financing proposed open-air venues, which threaten to undermine anti-smoking legislation.
Todd Harper, executive director of the Australian Quit campaign, described the findings as a "cynical and carefully
orchestrated strategy to target the most susceptible 18-to-25-year-old demographic."
"It's one of the most reprehensible and unethical acts I have seen from the tobacco industry, which is saying a lot,"
Mr Harper said.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris has agreed to make a significant financial contribution to a proposal for Victoria's
largest nightclub on a massive site at Johnson Street, South Melbourne. Known as Neverland, the venue will cater for
more than 5000 patrons and will include expansive outdoor areas. A consortium of nightclub figures, including the operators
of St Kilda's Palace Nightclub, are behind the proposal.
A representative of the consortium had talks with Philip Morris, which agreed to provide financial support once the
project receives planning approval, according to a source. A consortium spokesman, Manuel Sanchez, denied he had spoken to
Philip Morris, but said his partners may have. "Down the road, I want to hook up with them - if they're willing to chip in,
I'll take it," Mr Sanchez said.
Philip Morris communication manager Colin Lippiatt denied the company was involved in the deal. But he acknowledged
that the company did acquire rights to sell its products exclusively at some venues.
Melbourne bar owner Vernon Chalker recently opened Madam Brussels in Bourke Street, which includes a roof-top garden.
He confirmed a financial arrangement with Imperial Tobacco Australia, based on the venue's ability to accommodate smokers
beyond July 2007, when smoking bans come into effect. "They are targeting venues with open-air spaces, which all comes out
of their public relations budgets," he said.
Moves by the tobacco industry to target bars and nightclubs are not new. Philip Morris paid $1 million to the former
Heat nightclub to host their annual Grand Prix party and stock their products exclusively. This year, the event was moved
to Prahran's Boutique, which received $100,000 from Philip Morris.
Mr Harper of Quit said the strategy was a blatant attempt to flout the spirit of anti-tobacco legislation and exploit it. But Australian Hotels Association Victorian chief executive Brian Kearney defended the strategy. "The law does permit
an outdoor area and if they want to assist in that regard, then it's up to them," he said.
Mr Kearney said the association was working closely with members to identify opportunities to accommodate smokers.
Mr Harper said the hotel industry needed to focus on the 80 percent of people who did not smoke. He also questioned the
close links between the association and the tobacco industry.
The Melbourne Age, 5 August 2006
EU bosses may refuse jobs to smokers
Employers in Europe are free to refuse smokers a job, confirming their status as the continent's last pariahs. The European
Commission, which has presided over a vast array of anti-discrimination legislation in the past six years, has confirmed that
it does not cover tobacco users.
Asked whether a job advert saying that "smokers need not apply" breached European law, Vladimir Spidla, the commissioner for
employment and equal opportunities, said it did not. "A job advertisement saying that 'smokers need not apply' would not seem to
fall under any of the prohibited grounds [under EU legislation]. The European Union's anti-discrimination law only prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion and belief in
employment and other fields."
Catherine Stihler, a member of the European parliament and a British Labour party MEP, had taken up the case of an Irish
call centre company that placed such an advert in May for a constituent. The Irish government had said it did not breach any
law. Philip Tobin, the director of Dotcom Directories, the company concerned, said smokers were anti-social and took too much
sick leave.
He told Irish radio in May: "If people are smoking on a coffee break or in their own time, they come back into the office
and they stink. We have a very small office here and it would make things unbearable for the other staff. If these people can
ignore so many warnings and all that evidence then they haven't got the level of intelligence that I am looking for. Smoking
is idiotic."
Forest, a British pro-smoking pressure group, said it was distressed but not surprised by Mr Spidla's view.
"We all know employers discriminate on all sorts of grounds, from being too fat to the wrong colour hair. But for it to
be so overt is depressing and shows that smokers are fair game," said Simon Clark, Forest's director. "If people are asked
whether they smoke in a job interview, we advise them to lie. If you are a social smoker who enjoys a cigarette in the pub
in the evening it should not be your employers' business."
Mr Spidla's response "opens a real can of worms", he said, adding: "Who will be next? People who drink or who are too fat?"
The World Health Organization announced this year it would no longer hire smokers to work at its Geneva headquarters.
Mr Spidla, a veteran anti-communist and anti-smoker, is studying whether to introduce legislation to protect workers
from the effect of passive smoking. That could one day make it too risky for businesses to employ those who indulge.
Financial Times, 4 August 2006
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