Dutch under fire for lax tobacco controls

As often this story is told effectively by Chris Snowdon, but the background is as follows. In brief, the Dutch rolled back their smoking ban about a year ago. Shortly afterwards Wiel Maessen of Forces International, a Dutch citizen who had been active in organising opposition to the ban, was approached by Stanton Glantz for an interview, as he was seeking to understand how the ban in the Netherlands had come to be overturned. The interview between these two was recorded.

The ban was reversed for bars with no employees, relying on the argument that the ban was about protecting workers. The fight has not ceased for overturning bans everywhere in the Netherlands. But there is a counter-attack from the international forces of tobacco control. This Dutch pro-tobacco control researcher's blog output over the last year has been four pieces lamenting the renegade tendencies of the Dutch in tobacco control. For not only has the Dutch government partially overturned the smoking ban – it has also cut the funding for the Dutch anti-smoking campaign organisation STIVORO.

The antis' retaliation to this insubordination: here from Stanton Glantz on the lifting of the smoking ban (or the 'failure of policy' on tobacco) and here from an army of professional tobacco control advocates on the cessation of funding to STIVORO and similar measures (or on why the Dutch government is 'abandoning smokers to their fate') – also reported here.

Stanton Glantz's efforts to connect action taken by publicans in the Netherlands to the tobacco industry fail because there is simply no evidence to connect them. Chris Snowdon explains. The other study, promising Dutch smokers an early death because of the direction of Dutch tobacco policy, is hardly more convincing.

£20,000 on enforcement officers v. threats to Fife and Tayside services

As already reported in recent posts, Tayside Health Board has brought in enforcement officers to police smoking on the grounds of Ninewells hospital. The project costs £20,000, and they have issued one littering fine so far, which means they have another 399 fines to issue before they break even. People might restrict their illicit smoking activities to the 152 hours per week when no officers are present ...

Meantime public health minister Nicola Sturgeon will be chairing the NHS Fife's annual review meeting in order to face the public over the issue of cuts in A&E services in the area.

The Courier has launched a Burning Issues campaign in order to draw attention to problems in the health service. It covers areas like Evidence of abuse at Perth Royal Infirmary, Superbugs link to cleaning cuts denied, Sick NHS workers cost £260,000 a week – but there is also evidence of a strong level of support from the public: Former patients full of praise for health service staff.

When a couple of smoking enforcement officers are added to this mix they must fade into obscurity. The money spent on these is small but everywhere you look there are more pressing problems. High levels of abuse directed at staff and high levels of sick pay are both significant problems: is policing smoking in the grounds of the hospital likely to help either situation? Isn't abuse of staff vastly more objectionable than smoking in a doorway out of the rain? Is a smoking ban designed to promote a spirit of mutual respect and dignity for everybody concerned

Last word to Planet Politics, in an excellent blog piece which points out that the hospital does not have an indoor smoking problem, and that 'zero tolerance' does not mean that enforcement is effective.

To contribute to Burning Issues on any aspect of NHS performance in Tayside call 01382 575291 or email courier@dcthomson.co.uk.