smokersrightsok Oklahoma Smoker's Rights Group weblog.



Thursday, October 16, 2003 :::
 

SMOKING CRUSADES AROUND THE GLOBE

www.reuters.com

Pupils Angered Over Smoking Ban
Thu October 16, 2003 10:03 AM ET

DOMONT, France (Reuters) - French high school students are up in arms over a drive by teachers to ban some of their most cherished items, ranging from cigarettes to G-strings.

France's center-right government has declared war on the quintessentially French habit of smoking, angering many teenagers who fear a slip into a "no fun"-state as the popular thong has also become a thorn in the eye of authorities.

"We're not allowed to smoke anywhere on the school grounds any more. They treat us like babies," said Melodie Gambero, a 17-year-old student in Domont, north of Paris, who went on strike with fellow students last week against the new rules.

French law allows smoking at schools in designated areas, but the government, in its drive to crush the habit, is encouraging schools to become smoke-free zones.

"About half of all the students here smoke," said David Perochon, 19, adding a few hundred of the school's 1,200 students had participated in the one-day strike, which had not succeeded in changing the headmistress's mind.

The controversial smoking rules are being introduced in many schools as teachers are also trying to ban girls from showing off thongs and bellies above their low-cut trousers, provoking angry protests from fashion-conscious adolescents.

Hitting the same nerve, a French advertising association this month took the unusual step of ordering an underwear maker to withdraw a billboard campaign for its thong range, depicting three scantily clad pole dancers, following public protests.

© Copyright Reuters 2002. All rights reserved.


==============================================================================

www.reuters.com/newsArticle

French tobacco shops call one-day strike over tax
Thu October 16, 2003 12:37 PM ET

PARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - French tobacco shops vowed on Thursday to halt cigarette sales across the country for a day next Monday to protest against planned tax hikes which they fear will hit revenues.

A representative of the estimated 34,000 outlets which sell tobacco under a state-controlled distribution system dismissed a state aid offer of 130 million euros and demanded President Jacques Chirac intervene "before it's too late".

Rene Le Pape, head of the Confederation of Tobacco Outlets of France, told a news conference up to 85 percent of vendors were expected to joint the "strike" on Monday, when a hike of some 20 percent in tobacco tax is due to take effect.

The price of a top brand packet of 20 cigarettes has jumped by about 20 percent in a year and is set to soar with a double wave of tax rises of 20 percent each, next week and in January, to around five euros a pack from closer to three a year ago.

"We believe mobilisation is strong," Le Pape said. Where the town or village tobacco outlet is housed in a cafe, as is often the case, cigarette stocks will be draped in black veils, he added.

The government is hiking taxes to help plug a huge deficit in state heathcare finances, but also says the tax rise is in line with Chirac's drive to reduce cancer rates.

Tobacco makers fear price hikes will simply prompt more smokers to buy on the black market or cross the border to stock up on cheaper cigarettes from abroad.

© Copyright Reuters 2002. All rights reserved.


::: posted by Creditwrench at 12:29 PM


 

SMOKING CRUSADES AROUND THE GLOBE



R

Pupils Angered Over Smoking Ban
Thu October 16, 2003 10:03 AM ET

DOMONT, France (Reuters) - French high school students are up in arms over a drive by teachers to ban some of their most cherished items, ranging from cigarettes to G-strings.

France's center-right government has declared war on the quintessentially French habit of smoking, angering many teenagers who fear a slip into a "no fun"-state as the popular thong has also become a thorn in the eye of authorities.

"We're not allowed to smoke anywhere on the school grounds any more. They treat us like babies," said Melodie Gambero, a 17-year-old student in Domont, north of Paris, who went on strike with fellow students last week against the new rules.

French law allows smoking at schools in designated areas, but the government, in its drive to crush the habit, is encouraging schools to become smoke-free zones.

"About half of all the students here smoke," said David Perochon, 19, adding a few hundred of the school's 1,200 students had participated in the one-day strike, which had not succeeded in changing the headmistress's mind.

The controversial smoking rules are being introduced in many schools as teachers are also trying to ban girls from showing off thongs and bellies above their low-cut trousers, provoking angry protests from fashion-conscious adolescents.

Hitting the same nerve, a French advertising association this month took the unusual step of ordering an underwear maker to withdraw a billboard campaign for its thong range, depicting three scantily clad pole dancers, following public protests.

© Copyright Reuters 2002. All rights reserved.


==============================================================================

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3629441

French tobacco shops call one-day strike over tax
Thu October 16, 2003 12:37 PM ET

PARIS, Oct 16 (Reuters) - French tobacco shops vowed on Thursday to halt cigarette sales across the country for a day next Monday to protest against planned tax hikes which they fear will hit revenues.

A representative of the estimated 34,000 outlets which sell tobacco under a state-controlled distribution system dismissed a state aid offer of 130 million euros and demanded President Jacques Chirac intervene "before it's too late".

Rene Le Pape, head of the Confederation of Tobacco Outlets of France, told a news conference up to 85 percent of vendors were expected to joint the "strike" on Monday, when a hike of some 20 percent in tobacco tax is due to take effect.

The price of a top brand packet of 20 cigarettes has jumped by about 20 percent in a year and is set to soar with a double wave of tax rises of 20 percent each, next week and in January, to around five euros a pack from closer to three a year ago.

"We believe mobilisation is strong," Le Pape said. Where the town or village tobacco outlet is housed in a cafe, as is often the case, cigarette stocks will be draped in black veils, he added.

The government is hiking taxes to help plug a huge deficit in state heathcare finances, but also says the tax rise is in line with Chirac's drive to reduce cancer rates.

Tobacco makers fear price hikes will simply prompt more smokers to buy on the black market or cross the border to stock up on cheaper cigarettes from abroad.

© Copyright Reuters 2002. All rights reserved.


::: posted by Creditwrench at 12:23 PM






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