What the Sunday papers said

The UK Food Standards Agency is to follow up an investigation in America by its US counterpart after benzene, the carcinogenic chemical, had been found in soft drinks there. Sodium benzoate, a popular preservative used in the manufacturing process, can in certain cases react with Vitamin C - also present in soft drinks - to create benzene. A spokesman for Britvic, which makes the Britvic 55 brand, was confident its products would not be affected. "We test samples as they come off production so we're sure they're safe," he said. - Independent On Sunday​

Study after study points to a smoking ban not saving lives. A seven-year study by the World Health Organisation published in 1998 found that the risk of cancer from passive smoking was "statistically insignificant". Meanwhile those claiming a smoking ban in Ireland has proved universally popular are ignoring a study by Insight Research, which showed 67 per cent of Irish pubs have lost trade following the ban and that for two thirds of these losses have been significant. - Sunday Telegraph​

Pub closures in less well-off areas are inevitable once the smoking ban kicks in next year, according to Mitchells & Butlers head of public affairs Simon Ward. "It could be terminal for some, especially ones in less affluent areas where there are more smokers. - Sunday Express​

Two of the paper's writers debated the smoking ban, with the aptly named Julia Hartley-Brewer (political editor) coming down in favour: "The right to good health ranks higher than the right to smoke," she said, while Martin Newell (Express poet) spoke up for fag-puffers, noting that while cigarettes are indeed bad for you, so is driving a car and they pollute your and my air far more than a few fags will. - Sunday Express​

Mail On Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens says the proposed introduction of identity cards is the proof we need - if any were needed - to label the current government totalitarian. The cards, says Mr Hitchens, are a huge extension of state power over the individual, offering no protection against terrorism or the fight against crime. - Mail On Sunday​

Instead of focusing on the use of identity cards in the fight against crime, the government would be better off looking for positive uses that will directly benefit users, says Robin Wilton, corporate architect for Sun Microsystems. ID cards could be used to provide electronic signatures for official documents, for example. - Independent On Sunday​

A 70 per cent year-on-year rise in wholesale gas prices would translate into a 25 per cent rise in domestic prices, according to British Gas. Businesses looking to renegotiaate supply contracts in the spring are looking at 90 per cent hikes, while some users have already had to shut down operations. - Observer​

Bosses of businesses backed by private equity firms, such as those heading up bar operator Barracuda, may have to pay huge sums in extra tax after a Treasury review. The Inland Revenue is examining whether management teams should pay more tax on the gains they make on the stakes they acquire when they lead buyouts. Raising the bar on such taxes from 10 per cent to perhaps as high as 40 per cent, might make it harder for firms to find high-calibre managers - who often own a stake in the invested business - to run them. - Sunday Times​

Whitbread is believed to be considering selling its TGI Friday chain of restaurants. Although there were no immediate plans to sell, the company is believed to be looking for a purchaser after a year of disappointing sales. - Sunday Express​

Scottish & Newcastle is expected to raise "weak cheers" this week when it announces interim results. But despite predictions from analysts DrKW that its growth prospects are poor S&N is trading in line with expectations and has even been tipped as a potential buyer of Danish rival Carlsberg. - Sunday Express​

Shares in Scottish & Newcastle rose last week on speculation it might tie up with Danish brewer Carlsberg, S&N's partner in the Baltic Beverage joint venture, while Diageo shares rose 3.5 per cent after the drinks giant beat estimates by increasing its share of the US market and made strides in Brazil on the back of good sales of Smirnoff vodka. - Independent On Sunday​