Subj: BMA fumes at Government

Date: Mar 30, 1998

Source: The Scotsman

BMA fumes at Government

Doctors call for total ban on smoking in public amid attack
on 'repeated delays' over tobacco controls

CAHAL MILMO

DOCTORS' leaders are calling on the Government to accept
what they claim is "irrefutable evidence" and impose a total
ban on smoking in public.

An open letter sent from the British Medical Association to
the public health minister Tessa Jowell calls for urgent
steps to curb passive smoking and expresses health
professionals' concern at the lack of new government
measures to control tobacco consumption.

In a hard-hitting attack which describes cigarette
manufacturers as "public enemy number one", the BMA chairman
Dr Sandy Macara says: "We are concerned by the repeated
delays in the publication of the white paper on tobacco
control.

"The evidence is now irrefutable and accepted by all but the
tobacco industry that the health risks associated with
passive smoking are sufficiently serious to warrant
regulation and, if necessary, legislation."

The BMA letter follows an angry disagreement earlier this
month about a claim made by the tobacco firm BAT Industries
that a World Health Organisation report showed that passive
smoking was harmless.

Health experts angrily denied the interpretation, saying the
WHO study in fact proved there is a risk of cancer from
breathing in other people's smoke.

The BMA says that a voluntary code to halt smoking in
certain public spaces would be ineffective and widely
flouted.

Their letter adds that "courage is required" to bring in a
nationwide ban.

A Department of Health spokesman said a wide range of
measures on tobacco control were being examined but denied
there had been a delay in the white paper, which is
scheduled for publication in early summer.

In his letter, Dr Macara also targets under-age smoking,
calling for tough law enforcement with higher fines for shop
owners selling to minors .

The letter also suggest that token-operated cigarette
vending machines should be restricted to adult locations.

These demands now suggest a departure from a BMA policy held
since 1984, which called for the age limit on tobacco sales
to be raised to 18. The body now admits that such a measure
would be "too simplistic a solution".

Help for smokers who want to quit should also be improved
with new help for GPs and nursing staff .

While underlining the need for extra funding to bolster
scarce NHS resources, Dr Macara focuses his criticism on the
tobacco industry itself.

He says: "I would like to emphasise that we must not lose
sight of the fact that the tobacco industry is public enemy
number one.

"We must examine every avenue to put increasing pressure on
an industry that demonstrates by its actions that it has no
concern for the health of the nation."

The Tobacco Manufacturers Association countered the
accusation by accusing Dr Macara of being a "master of self-
publicity and ill manners".