The Health News Australia November 3 2017

• John Holland, the head contractor of Perth Children’s Hospital, is seeking $300 million in compensation from the State Government for changes to the project. The Health Minister Roger Cook revealed the figure as he fielded questions by the Liberal Party about when the hospital, that is more than two years behind schedule, would open.
• Japanese firm Piala wants to compensate its non-smoking workers by giving them an extra six days of leave because they don’t take the breaks to smoke. The initiative known as “Sumokyu” — wordplay using “smoke” and a Japanese word for “break” — was rolled out by the Tokyo-based online marketing consultancy in September.
• Calls to ban e- cigarettes in smoke-free areas of NSW, as has already been done in five other states, have now been backed by the State’s Health Minister who is siding with the country’s top health organisations. Several groups like the Cancer Council, Council on Smoking Health, and Heart Foundation urged the NSW Government to legislate the change.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 3rd of November 2017. Read by Tabetha Moreto.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-02/john-holland-perth-childrens-hospital-compo-claim/9109950

The head contractor of Perth Children’s Hospital, John Holland, is seeking three hundred million dollars in compensation from the State Government for changes to the project. The Health Minister Roger Cook revealed the figure as he fielded questions by the Liberal Party about when the hospital, that is more than two years behind schedule, would open.
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The one point two billion dollar project has run into a string of construction problems, including lead found in the drinking water, and is not expected to open until the first half of two thousand eighteen. An extensive list of additional construction defects, which are yet to be resolved, was also revealed last month. Despite the problems, the Government took practical completion of the project, effectively taking the keys from the contractor, in April. In a statement, John Holland said it had from “the outset” been clear it was negotiating with the Government in relation to compensation.The company said it was committed to achieving a fair outcome for both parties. When asked by the Opposition to provide Parliament with a breakdown of the changes made to the hospital project, Mister Cook said he was unable to do so.
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The McGowan Government has promised to give a clear timeframe this month for when the hospital will open.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/company-rewards-workers-who-quit-smoking-with-an-extra-annual-leave-as-more-people-take-up-cigarettes/news-story/fc4c6c90972d0245eb29c976e740ea50

A company has come up with a novel way of encouraging its workers to quit smoking — an extra week of annual leave. Japanese firm Piala wants to compensate its non-smoking workers by giving them an extra six days of leave because they don’t take the breaks to smoke. The initiative known as “Sumokyu” — wordplay using “smoke” and a Japanese word for “break” — was rolled out by the Tokyo-based online marketing consultancy in September. It was devised after an employee complained about the time lost because colleagues went out for regular cigarette breaks. The office of the company is on the twenty ninth floor and it takes between ten to fifteen minutes to visit the designated smoking area in the lobby and return again.

More than two million Australians smoke cigarettes despite health risks. Some employees smoke several times a day which led to complaints so the company decided it would be better to compensate nonsmokers, instead of taking action against those who smoke. The initiative has led to four of the forty two smokers — from a workforce of one hundred twenty people — to quit smoking. With Australia’s national smoking rate on the rise in recent years, health groups are looking for new ways to get people to quit.

The Daily Telegraph revealed last month that mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest put a proposal to state and federal health ministers to raise the legal smoking age to 21.
Mister Forrest — the sixth richest Australian, worth about $6.84 billion — has put aside $75 million as part his Minderoo Foundation’s “Eliminate Cancer Initiative” for his battle against big tobacco. One in eight Australians smoke and two-thirds will die of tobacco-related illnesses.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-02/fight-to-ban-e-cigarettes-in-smoke-free-areas-of-nsw/9109858

Calls to ban electronic cigarettes in smoke-free areas of New South Wales, as has already been done in five other states, have now been backed by the State’s Health Minister who is siding with the country’s top health organisations. Several groups like the Cancer Council, Council on Smoking Health, and Heart Foundation urged the New South Wales Government to legislate the change. Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have all enacted the ban to date.

“We don’t actually know what’s in the e-cigarette vapour, you could be sitting on a bus and the person sitting next to you using an e-cigarette could actually have nicotine in it and you’re breathing in that vapour,” said Wendy Oakes from the Heart Foundation.
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Miss Oakes conceded that the safety of e-cigarettes is still being studied but it is alarming that young people are taking the devices up more than anyone else in New South Wales. She added: “Having this ubiquitous smoking around people then re-normalises it for children and adolescents.”