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Rishi Sunak considers banning cigarettes for next generation
Rishi Sunak is considering introducing some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures that would in effect ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes, the Guardian has learned.
Whitehall sources said the prime minister was looking at measures similar to those brought in by New Zealand last December. They involved steadily increasing the legal smoking age so tobacco would end up never being sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
A New Zealand-style anti-smoking policy would mean cigarettes would be phased out completely for the next generation. Under the former prime minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand also legislated to reduce the nicotine content of tobacco products and force them to be sold only through specialty tobacco stores, rather than convenience stores and supermarkets.
Asked about the policy of a New Zealand style-smoking ban, a government spokesperson said: “Smoking is a deadly habit – it kills tens of thousands of people each year and places a huge burden on the NHS and the economy.
“We want to encourage more people to quit and meet our ambition to be smoke-free by 2030, which is why we have already taken steps to reduce smoking rates. This includes providing 1 million smokers in England with free vape kits via our world-first ‘swap to stop’ scheme, launching a voucher scheme to incentivise pregnant women to quit, and consulting on mandatory cigarette pack inserts.”
Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2023
The Guardian exclusive was followed up by a wide range of other online and broadcast media which ran over the weekend. On Radio 4’s PM Hazel Cheeseman, our deputy chief exec, was interviewed in a 2 header with Robert West:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001qsxpSaturday
ASH issued a comment in response which was picked up including by the Financial Times, Daily Mirror, iNews and LBC, as well as internationally “Smoking is highly addictive and only one in three smokers quit before they die, taking on average 30 attempts before they succeed,” Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking charity ASH, said.“If the government is serious about making England smoke-free by 2030, it needs to reduce youth uptake as well as help adult smokers quit. ASH strongly supports raising the age of sale, it’s worked well in the US and is popular with the public.”
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Can Rishi Sunak’s 2024 vision rescue the Conservatives?
Writing in the Times, Chief Political Editor Tim Shipman, discusses Rishi Sunak’s recent policy announcements as he moves into the final term of his time as Prime Minister.
Those he gathered that day included Liam Booth-Smith, his chief of staff; James Forsyth, his political secretary and best friend; Isaac Levido, director of the Conservative election campaign; Eleanor Shawcross, head of policy; and Amber de Botton, who has recently departed as communications director.
Following the meeting, one of those present gave a quote on where the PM had arrived at: “What he has concluded is that all the challenges the country faces require ferocious energy but are symptoms of a bigger problem. Our system of government has created a situation in which we have stumbled into a consensus no one seems content with.
Decisions are made for the wrong reasons. He wants to do the things others have found too difficult. What you’re going to see now is the product of all the lessons he has learnt as prime minister.”
Sunak’s next move on health seems to be limiting smoking in outdoor spaces at pubs and restaurants. Some in No 10 say this was not something he demanded, but others are clear that work is being done in Whitehall on the subject.
Source: The Times, 24 September 2023
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Opinion: Bob Blackman: ‘Sunak should make delivering a smokefree 2030 his public health legacy’
Bob Blackman, Conservative MP, has called for smokefree 2030 to be Sunak’s health legacy, writing that smoking ‘’is not a matter of free choice’’.
Blackman explains that smoking is an addiction often starting in childhood, and that most adult smokers want to quit, yet the addictiveness means that it can take an average of 30 quit attempts to succeed, with inly one in ten smokers able to do so.
Further, Blackman recalls that two thirds of long-term smokers will die from their addiction, something he describes as ‘’deeply personal’’ having lost both of his parents to smoking caused cancers- his mother dying at just 47 from lung and throat cancer.
Not wanting to see other families go through what he has, Blackman believes that supporting the governments smokefree ambition is a no brainer and wants to see tougher legislation – without which he seriously doubts we will get near to the ambition’s 5% smoking rate.
Such measures are supported by voters, with nearly two thirds of the public thinking the government should do more to tackle smoking rates.
Blackman explains that smoking is not just about health and wellbeing but he also sees it as vital to delivering the governments workforce plan as improving people’s health by stopping them smoking frees them up to participate in the workforce. Smokers need social care on average ten years earlier than non-smoking and the sickness and disability smoking causes is a ‘’significant factor’’ in the number of those out of work.
Blackman concludes by urging the Prime Minister to not just consider raising the age of sale, but also adopt the other measures set out in the APPG report and Khan review to ensure that smoking is made obsolete. This, Blackman reflects, would be a great legacy for this government.
Source: Politics.co.uk, 25 September 2023
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Nicotine pouches next in line after vape ban
Ministers are being urged to close a loophole that allows “harmful and addictive” high-strength nicotine pouches to be used by children.
The small bags of nicotine powder, about the size of a piece of chewing gum, are tucked between the cheek and the gum where the powder dissolves and is absorbed into the bloodstream. They are not classed as tobacco-related products in the UK and can legally be sold to under-18s, as well as promoted online and at music festivals.
They were originally designed as a nicotine-replacement product for people hoping to quit smoking, with many big tobacco companies developing their own ranges. However, the pouches are increasingly marketed to young people as an alternative to vaping and “the new way to enjoy nicotine”.
They are usually sold in brightly-coloured small tins and come in fruity flavours including gummy bear, cinnamon spice and watermelon and are available in different strengths, with some containing 17mg of nicotine, roughly equivalent to smoking a cigarette.
With the government set to announce a clampdown on vapes within weeks in an attempt to reduce nicotine use among teenagers, campaigners say restrictions are also needed on pouches to prevent children switching to them for a nicotine hit. Alice Wiseman, policy leader for addiction at the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: “The sale of these extremely harmful and addictive nicotine pods to children and young people is completely unacceptable’’.
One in 20 18 to 34-year-olds in the UK have used nicotine pouch products, according to the latest data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). Hazel Cheeseman, from ASH, said: “Nicotine pouches are likely to be less harmful than smoking but that does not mean that they should not be regulated. Currently there are no controls around who they are sold to, how they are marketed or what the nicotine strength is. These are all areas the government should review through a comprehensive approach to nicotine regulation. The market keeps innovating but regulation does not keep up.”
Source: The Times, 25 September 2023
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Superdrug to stop selling single-use vapes in UK and Ireland
Superdrug will stop selling disposable vapes in all its UK and Ireland stores after concerns about the environmental damage from millions of single-use e-cigarettes.
Superdrug said it sold an average of 1,300 units of single-use vapes a week in stores and did not sell them online.
The company said it had made the decision in order to protect the environment.
Lucy Morton-Channon, its head of environment, social and governance, said: “The rate that consumers are using single-use vapes and discarding them is worrying and alarming for the environment. The lasting effects that single-use vapes are having on the environment needs to be addressed, and I am pleased that we’ve decided to remove them from all stores.”
avid Fothergill, the chair of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said the GLA was very pleased about the Superdrug ban.
He said: “Single-use vapes blight our streets as litter, are a hazard in our bin lorries, are expensive and difficult to deal with in our recycling centres. It is important that a ban is brought in at pace. Disposable vapes are an inherently unsustainable product.”
Source: The Guardian, 22 September 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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