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Plain packaging
will save lives, say Labour MEPs
LABOUR MEPs are calling on the government to
introduce so-called plain packaging for cigarettes as soon as
possible, joining with a number of health charities and NGOs to say:-
"delays cost lives".
One of our local Euro MEP's Arlene McCarthy commented that:- "Over the last few years the industry has been particularly
targeting young women with super-slim, feminine packets which look
more like boxes for lipstick or perfume than for a dangerous and
addictive drug. Standardising packs would end this practice."
Arlene who is a supporter of the Smoke Free North West Campaign
said:- "Two thirds of current smokers started smoking before
they were 18 and 83% started before they were 20. Unlike regular
smokers, young people who haven't yet tried tobacco are not drawn to
it by a physical addiction. Instead they are attracted to tobacco
solely by the image and the idea of smoking,"
The government consultation on standardising tobacco packaging;
replacing all branding and colours with large pictorial health
warnings, was due to close Tuesday, 10 July 2012. However the deadline has
now been extended for yet another month and many campaigners now
think it is a month to long!
MEP's Arlene McCarthy added that:- "I hope people take advantage of this extra time to share
their views with the government, who must take swift action once the
consultation closes. Tobacco is the
leading cause of preventable death and kills one in two regular
smokers. Tobacco advertising has been banned from billboards, TV, films,
newspapers, radio, magazines, racing cars, sportswear and at the
point of sale. Plain packaging would simply complete the ban."
The government will be considering national legislation at the same
time as the European Parliament revises the internal market rules on
tobacco packaging. It is possible that plain packaging could be
rolled out across Europe.
MEP, Arlene McCarthy added:- "Having the same rules across all 27 EU countries would
simplify trade for retailers and manufacturers, and make the rules
easier to enforce in the UK. Most importantly, however, it would
protect 500 million European citizens from misleading tobacco
marketing."
Do you think changing the
standardising tobacco packaging will stop people from
smoking? Let us know your views by emailing us to:-
news24@southportreporter.com.
Southport Open Top Bus Tours
THE Merseyside Transport Trust (MTT) is
pleased to announce that it will be operating circular open top
tours of Southport during the holiday season of 2012. These tours
will be provided entirely by volunteers.
Starting from the traditional location of Southport Pier, the tours
will operate as a free-of-charge circular service taking in the
sights of Southport, on a tour that has proved a popular tourist
attraction for many decades.
Picking up where Arriva left off in 2011, the tours are to be
operated using historic Leyland Atlanteans that have been operating
these tours in past years and are now in preservation; 1449 (GKA
449L) and 1551 (OLV 551M). A closed top vehicle will be substituted
in adverse weather conditions.
The tours take in such beautiful Southport attractions as the Marine
Lake, Marine Bridge, Royal Birkdale Golf Course, Hesketh Park, Lord
Street Boulevard and the Botanic Gardens.
The operation of the tours will commence on Sunday, 29 July 2012 and
will operate on every Sunday through to Sunday, 26 August 2012, also
including August Bank Holiday Monday, 27 August 2012. Departures are
timetabled for 12:00, 13:30 and 15:00 hours from Southport Pier, in
front of the carousel.
For more information, consult the MTT’s
website.
Staff employed by BMA take second
24 Hour Strike
THE 24 hour strike by GMB members who work for
the BMA on Wednesday, 18 July 2012 after an offer was made that was
below inflation. GMB members employed by the Doctors organisation at
8 locations across the UK striked. GMB’s action has been taken to
coincide with the first full meeting of the newly elected BMA
Council at BMA House in Edinburgh, when it will be making decisions
on the next steps in the BMA’s own NHS Pensions campaign. The BMA
responded to a GMB request for talks to be reopened with an improved
pay offer with a meeting on Tuesday, 12 July 2012, but no progress
was made. The BMA management said it was considering a 2 year pay
offer but the details of the new offer made were revealed late on
Thursday and contained no improvement on the 1.5% for this year, and
the new proposal of 2.5% from April 2013 was not acceptable as it
may not meet inflation. Last month GMB members voted by a majority
of 81.2% to take industrial action over the refusal of the BMA to
negotiate an improved pay offer for 2012. They rejected a pay offer
of 1.5% plus an additional 0.5% for high performers only. Indeed due
to the outcome of a grading re-structuring, the offer for 67% of
staff is in fact worth under 1.29% and 34% of staff it is worth less
than 1.09%. Did this strike affect you? Did you take part in the
strike? What are your views on this strike? Email our newsroom with
your views, via:-
news24@southportreporter.com. |
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Ring Your Bell
and Join Thousands Of People
THE Turner Prize-winning
artist and musician Martin Creed is inviting everyone in the UK to
take part in Work No. 1197 - All the bells in a country rung as
quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes at 08:12 on 27 July 2012 to
celebrate the first day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games.
Anyone can take part by ringing any kind of bell for 3 minutes -
from enthusiastic children with hand bells, bicycle bells and
doorbells to experienced change ringing experts of tower bells. To
get involved all individuals, communities and organisations are
encouraged to register at:-
allthebells.com.
This unique London 2012 Festival commission is the festival’s
biggest community project and offers everyone in the UK the amazing
opportunity to be part of a work by a Turner Prize winning artist
and London 2012’s history. Martin Creed has said:- "It’s by
people and for people. On the morning of the opening of the Games
it’s a massive signal that something is happening."
Thousands of people have already registered to take part and the
performance has captured the imagination of many organisations and
individuals, including The Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary,
The British Army, The RAF, the National Trust, The Ancient and
Honourable Guild of Town Criers, the National Theatre, the Church of
England, the Arts Council and Creative Scotland, the Foreign &
Commonwealth Office, The National Football Museum, The Sports
Heritage Network, Discovering Places, The Churches Conservation
Trust, the Mayor of London, the Archbishop of Westminster, Dame
Evelyn Glennie, Open Morris, The British Federation of Youth
Marching Band Organisations, The Girl Guides Association, The Royal
British Legion, the Women’s Institute and many more.
All The Bells will be broadcast by the BBC to a potential live
audience of over 10 million people across the UK on TV, radio and
online - including BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 2 Chris Evans Breakfast
Show and BBC local radio stations.
Anyone can take part by ringing any kind of bell for 3 minutes
from experienced change ringing experts of tower bells to
enthusiastic children with hand bells, bicycle bells and doorbells.
To get involved all individuals, communities and organisations and
those interest in taking part are encouraged to register now.
Everyone who signs up will be able to download an exclusive Martin
Creed ringtone, Work No. 1372. The Official London 2012 Join In App
incorporates a line of Martin’s composition as a shake and play
feature.
The cacophonous sound of thousands of bells across the country
ringing out at the same time to mark this historical moment will be
a thrilling experience and a nationwide celebration.
Bell ringing highlights include:-
Hundreds of people will be ringing bells on HMS Belfast, which
will fire its canons in a countdown to 08:12.
The Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet
Auxiliary will be participating across the UK and overseas with as
many ships, shore bases and naval establishments as possible.
British Embassies around the world
will be joining in, including the British Embassy in Beijing, which
is inviting the sole survivor of China’s 1948 London Olympics team
to ring a bell that was cast to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen
Victoria.
Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the most
famous bell foundry in the world, will be ringing a variety of bells
in the courtyard of the foundry and on the pavement outside.
Hundreds of cyclists will ring
bicycle bells outside the Transport Museum in Coventry.
Michael Wood, 3 Times World
Champion Town Crier, is leading a community bell-ringing event in
Beverley, East Riding, Yorkshire, with local schools.
Over a hundred people will be
joining The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh for bell-ringing on the
famous Scotsman Steps.
In Skew people will be ringing
bells outside Britain's northernmost inhabited house.
600 Girl Guides will all be
ringing bells at an Olympic-themed camp in the New Forest.
St Columb's Cathedral, the mother
church of the Anglican Church of Ireland, and its Catholic
counterpart, St Eugene's Cathedral, in Derry will be ringing in
unison.
Tresco Bike Store on The Isles of
Scilly will supply bikes for people to ride to the most Westerly
church in the UK, and ring bicycle bells alongside the church bells.
Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural
Olympiad and London 2012 Festival, said:- "The commission
shows the Festival’s commitment to world-class artists and to the
values of participation. Martin Creed’s wonderful idea gets everyone
involved in the opening day of the Games not just as an audience but
as an integral part of the work."
Everyone who signs up will be able to download an exclusive Martin
Creed ringtone, Work No. 1372, which features 28 different bell
sounds. The Official London 2012 Join In App also incorporates a
line of Martin’s composition as a shake and play feature.
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