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** 19 April 2023
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** UK
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** Experts call for tobacco levy to help nation become smoke-free (#1)
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** UK 'faces higher taxes' as successive PMs have been 'too squeamish' to tackle obesity (#2)
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** ‘Residents are getting poorer services’ – LGC survey reveals the extent of cuts (#3)
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** UK
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** Experts call for tobacco levy to help nation become smoke-free

“Meagre” public spending on tobacco control measures should be propped up by a “polluter pays” tax on tobacco firms, a group of health experts said.

A new letter signed by leading health charities and medical Royal Colleges said current spending is only “around a quarter of the investment needed” to help the Government achieve its smoke-free ambition.

A package of measures aimed at driving smoking rates down below 5% by 2030 was introduced by ministers last week. They include encouraging people to swap tobacco products for vapes, offering up to £400 to pregnant women to stop smoking and cracking down on the illegal sale of vapes to under-18s.

But ministers ruled out raising the minimum age to buy cigarettes from 18.

In an opinion piece published in The BMJ, the experts said the announcements are a “step forward” but “meagre” spending on tobacco control could cost the economy billions.

They said the cash to prop up the projects comes from a reallocation of current Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds rather than “new money”.

“If government is unwilling or unable to find the funds from the public purse, there is cross party support for a ‘polluter pays’ levy on the tobacco industry,” the letter says.

It says a major review into smoking – known as the Khan review – called for £125 million per year to be invested into tobacco control.

The experts said the public largely supports a levy on the tobacco industry to pay for the Government’s smoke-free ambition.

One signatory, Professor Nick Hopkinson, chairman of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The measures announced last week will help to reduce smoking rates but they are nowhere near enough.

“Our letter is a clear demand from health leaders for Government to fully and immediately fund the measures needed to achieve a ‘Smokefree 2030’.

“If the money can’t be found from the public purse, a polluter pays levy that caps the tobacco industry’s ill-gotten profits must be introduced – an approach supported not just by health experts but by three quarters of the public, and with strong cross-party support in parliament.”

Source: The independent, 19 April 2023

See also: The BMJ - Meagre spending on tobacco control is costing the economy billions ([link removed])
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** UK 'faces higher taxes' as successive PMs have been 'too squeamish' to tackle obesity

The Institute for Government warned that a repeated failure to tackle the obesity epidemic will result in higher taxes and spending - with the problem already costing the NHS £6.5billion every year.

Voters face being hit with higher taxes because of ministers' "squeamishness" over tackling obesity, a report has warned today.

Every government since 1992 has failed to reduce obesity, with rising rates burdening the NHS and damning the economy, research by the Institute for Government shows.

The think-tank said ministers fear being perceived as "nanny state" despite strong public support for ambitious measures.

The report points to "at least" 14 government strategies on obesity, "containing hundreds of policies, and a succession of institutional reforms, with key agencies and teams created and then abolished".

A failure to grip the problem now will result in higher taxes and spending, as well as increased inequality, it added.

A ban on junk food ads pre-9pm was due to come into force in January but this has also been kicked down the road.

The UK has the third highest obesity rate in Europe, behind only Malta and Turkey.

Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5billion every year and is the second biggest cause of cancer, after smoking. It is also associated with a higher risk of other serious illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.

Sophie Metcalfe, an IfG researcher and the report's author, said: “High obesity will lock the UK into a future of increasing ill health and the government has no plan to tackle it.

“It needs to build support for a long-term strategy which avoids telling people 'what to eat' but focuses instead on shared responsibility and a vision of healthier diets and more productive lives.”

Source: The Mirror, 19 April 2023

See also: Institute for Government - Tackling obesity: Improving policy making on food and health ([link removed])
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** ‘Residents are getting poorer services’ – LGC survey reveals the extent of cuts

Four fifths of respondents to LGC’s confidence survey were doubtful about the sector’s financial health over the next three years, with most expecting a reduction the quality of services.

Some 14% of respondents said their council could issue a section 114 notice – a warning that the council cannot balance its budget – by the end of 2024-25. Almost a quarter said that their council could need to seek exceptional financial support from the government by the end of 2024-25.

One respondent, a head of service at a unitary said: “Central government hugely underfunds and underappreciates local government and at times seems as though it's trying to actively undermine it.”

LGC asked if inflation had led to planned or actual reductions in service areas, with more than half of respondents projecting cuts in some areas (Almost half (47%) of respondents said that inflation had led to planned or actual service reductions to public health services).

Respondents also said the quality of services is likely to decline. More than two fifths (42%) said they expect service quality to fall a lot over the next three years and 38% said it would reduce a little.

One district chief said: “The continued delays to local government finance reform, with five consecutive one year settlements is unacceptable. Full compliance with the Council of Europe charter of local self government is required, creating financial and legal independence for local government.”

Source: LGC, 18 April 2023
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

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