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** 8 August 2023
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** UK
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** Dame Joanna Lumley jokes smoking up to 40 cigarettes has helped her stay fit at 77 (#1)
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** Jeremy Clarkson warned by GP over ‘agonising and premature death’ if he doesn’t quit habit (#2)
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** Firm behind ‘voice of gamblers’ group co-owned by betting industry consultant (#3)
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** International
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** Philippines: DOH launches tobacco cessation contest for smokers, vapers (#4)
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** UK
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** Dame Joanna Lumley jokes smoking up to 40 cigarettes has helped her stay fit at 77
Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley smokes between one and 40 cigarettes per day, and has proudly declared that she loves the habit and will never quit.
It might not be dietary advice the Department of Health gets behind, but Dame Joanna Lumley believes cigarettes may have helped her stay so fit and healthy at 77.
“I am unbelievably fit,” she boasts. “Despite, or probably because of smoking. I am never ill. I never have these extraordinary emergency procedures.”
Joanna smokes between one and 40 cigarettes per day and has proudly declared that she “loves” the habit and will never quit - in fact, during filming, she regularly snuck off for cheeky cigarette breaks, with director Mika Simmons finding her out in the streets of London’s Paddington, enjoying a smoke during rush hour.
Source: The Mirror, 7 August 2023
Editorial note: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK. About half of all life-long smokers will die prematurely, losing on average about 10 years of life. For every smoker who dies another thirty are suffering serious-smoking related diseases. On average, smokers have difficulty carrying out everyday tasks like dressing, eating and walking across a room, seven years earlier than never smokers and need care support ten years earlier than never smokers.
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** Jeremy Clarkson warned by GP over ‘agonising and premature death’ if he doesn’t quit habit
Amazon Prime star Jeremy Clarkson has admitted that his doctor has warned him he will sugar an “agonising and premature death” if he keeps up a habit, he previously thought safe for his health.
The Clarkson’s Farm star explained that he used to be a smoker, but that he had made efforts to ween himself off cigarettes in favour of nicotine gum.
The former Top Gear host revealed that, while giving up smoking may have given his lungs a break, nicotine gum has still had a worrying effect on him.
“For most of my adult life, stern-faced doctors warned me that if I didn’t give up smoking, I would suffer from an agonising and premature death,” Jeremy explained.
“So, six years ago I bit the bullet and replaced my 40-a-day habit with sheet after sheet of full-strength nicotine gum.
“And this week a doctor said it’s causing a worrying rise in my blood pressure and that if I don’t pack it in soon, I will suffer from an agonising and premature death,” he concluded incredulously.
According to previous reports, Jeremy finally quit smoking after a bout of near-fatal pneumonia kept him from cigarettes while he was hospitalised back in 2017.
Source: Daily Express, 5 August 2023
Editorial note: Jeremy Clarkson told the Mail ([link removed]) [link removed] was using ten packets of nicotine gum a day when he quit in 2017 with an image showing ten strips with 15 pieces of gum in each. According to the British National Formulary the maximum dose for 4 mg nicotine gum (the strength recommended for people who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day) is 15 pieces a day so this is ten times the recommended dose.
People using the recommended dose of nicotine gum can be reassured that the World Health Organisation (WHO) includes nicotine gum as a safe and effective medical treatment to help individuals quit tobacco in its Model List of Essential Medicines (EML), a collection of medicines considered essential by WHO experts
See also: Other news coverage - Daily Star ([link removed]) , Mirror ([link removed]) , Metro ([link removed])
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** Firm behind ‘voice of gamblers’ group co-owned by betting industry consultant
The company behind a lobby group that wants to derail planned overhaul of UK gambling laws and claims to act on behalf of ordinary punters is co-owned by a consultant for the betting industry.
Ministers proposed a series of changes in April that they said would make gambling safer by imposing tighter regulations on online betting firms, though they added that further consultation was needed before a bill could be put before parliament.
The Gamblers Consumer Forum (GCF), which describes itself as the “voice of gamblers” on its website, has attacked the plans and criticised the proposed affordability checks outlined in the white paper that are meant to prevent huge losses to punters.
Analysis by the Guardian found the group has ties to politics and a veteran gambling industry consultant, while its website contained material that experts described as “misleading”.
The GCF’s website says it is run by two people. One is Andrew Woodman, a parliamentary assistant to Andrew Bridgen, the MP expelled from the Tory party due to his anti-vaccination views. The other is Abbie MacGregor, a PhD student in neuroscience who is also a former Conservative council candidate. MacGregor is a former parliamentary researcher for two unnamed MPs and one-time campaigner against the sugar tax.
But Companies House records show that she and Woodman co-own the company behind GCF with Stephen Donoughue, a betting industry consultant who offers advice to firms hoping to obtain a gambling licence for a fee of £18,000.
Donoughue, whose personal website includes glowing testimony from betting firms, spent 15 years as secretary of a cross-party group of pro-gambling MPs.
He also obtained a parliamentary pass courtesy of Scott Benton, the Tory MP who was cleared of wrongdoing after he was covertly filmed by the Times apparently offering to lobby on behalf of gambling industry investors and leak information to them.
Source: The Guardian, 8 August 2023
See also: How Big Tobacco undermines tobacco control ([link removed]) and Tobacco tactics ([link removed])
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** International
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** Philippines: DOH launches tobacco cessation contest for smokers, vapers
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday launched a tobacco cessation contest to encourage smokers and vapers of all ages to quit the vice and win cash prizes.
Citing a 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) Executive Director Dr. Vincent Balanag Jr. said 13.5 million Filipino adults were smoking manufactured cigarettes.
“The goal is increasing awareness of the public with regards to the ill effects of smoking and the benefits of stopping smoking. We also want to assist smokers who want to quit through the various strategies available,” he said.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Philippines Executive Director Dr. Maricar Limpin also said they were conducting the contest to help smokers to reclaim control over their lives by turning their backs on the addictive habit.
Source: GMA News Online, 8 August 2023
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