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Health & SafetyBriefs .....
Scotland’s smoking ban has resulted in a massive improvement in air quality for bar workers, research carried out by the University of Aberdeen for NHS Scotland and the Scottish Executive has found. The study measured the air quality in 41 Scottish bars in the two months leading up to the ban, and again in May and June 2006. It discovered an approximate 86% reduction in bar workers’ exposure to second-hand smoke. Sally Haw, principal public health adviser for Health Scotland, said the study acts as further confirmation of the success of Scotland’s smoking ban and the high level of compliance with it. She predicted that as well as seeing improvements in the health of bar staff, other population groups in Scotland will begin to experience the beneficial effects of the legislation.
The near £1m fine levelled against Nationwide Building Society for lapses in data security has led the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) to accuse regulators of being more likely to take meaningful action against corporate crime than organisations that kill or maim their workers. Ian Tasker, STUC health and safety officer, said it is a strange society where regulatory breaches attract far more serious sanctions than corporate actions that result in the loss of human life.
March 2007 |
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