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Rishi Sunak defends his plan to ban smoking for younger generation
Plans to phase out the sale of cigarettes in England will be the "biggest public health intervention in a generation", Rishi Sunak has said.
The PM told the BBC there was "no safe level of smoking" when asked about restricting people's right to choose.
His plan seeks to raise the legal age of smoking every year by a year so that eventually no-one can buy tobacco.
Tory MPs will be allowed a free vote while Labour indicated it would back the policy.
Making the announcement in his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Sunak said he believed it was the right step to tackle the leading cause of preventable ill-health. "Smoking is unequivocally the single biggest preventable cause of death, disability and illness in our society," he said.
Smoking increases the risk of strokes, heart disease, dementia and stillbirth as well as causing one in four deaths from cancer.
Mr Sunak has decided to throw his backing behind it as a way of meeting the government's ambition for England to be smokefree by 2030 - defined as less than 5% of the population smoking.
Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, has said "the overwhelming majority of the medical profession, the nursing profession and all the health charities support this".
He described claims from the tobacco industry that the ban would not work as "bogus".
Labour said it would "not play politics with public health" and would lend the prime minister the votes to get the law passed - but the plan is likely to meet opposition from the libertarian wing of the Conservative Party.
Cancer Research UK's Michelle Mitchell said the announcement on the smoking age was a "critical step".
"If implemented, the prime minister will deserve great credit for putting the health of UK citizens ahead of the interests of the tobacco lobby."
Deborah Arnott, from campaign group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said what had been announced was an "unprecedented" set of measures which would hasten the day smoking is obsolete.
Source: BBC News 5 October 2023
See further general coverage of the ban in The Independent, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and Sky News.
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Smoking: Prof Sir Chris Whitty backs tobacco phase-out plan
Speaking on BBC Breakfast Sir Chris Whitty (CMO) for England, has welcomed Rishi Sunak's plan to raise the legal age of smoking every year by a year so that eventually no-one can buy tobacco.
He told the BBC: "As a doctor I've seen many people in hospital desperate to stop smoking because it's something that is killing them."
Source: BBC This Morning, 5 October 2023
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Expert reaction to PM proposing incremental raising of smoking age in England
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has proposed incremental raising of the smoking age in England. Read reactions from academics across addiction, public health and medicine on the impact this policy could have.
One such reaction was from Prof Nick Hopkinson, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College London, and chair of ASH, who said:
“Smoking is the leading cause of preventable ill health and premature death. For most people who smoke, the habit is driven by an addiction starting in childhood. So raising the legal age of sale for tobacco products is an important step to protect children and young people from getting hooked on smoking. Two out of three continuing smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.
“It’s one of the key measures called for in Javed Khan’s independent review Making Smoking Obsolete* which set out the steps needed to reach SmokeFree 2030.
“It’s evidence based – we saw a fall in youth uptake of smoking in the UK when age of sale was raised from 16 to 18 in 2005, and when it was increased to 21 in the US more recently.
“Government needs to move swiftly and get this measure in place as soon as possible.
“But we need to do more. There are more than 6 million people who smoke in the UK. They need support to quit, including smoking cessation services and mass media campaigns. Laws that regulate sales need to be enforced, but trading standards budgets have been halved, cut by £200 million, since 2010.
“A polluter pays levy on tobacco industry profits would claw back hundreds of millions of pounds, and provide a mechanism to pay for what is needed.”
Source: Science Media Centre, 4 October 2023
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Doctors urged to ask patients about gambling in new NHS mental health guidance
People who seek help for mental health issues should be asked about problem gambling in the same way they are asked about drugs, smoking and alcohol, new guidance has suggested.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), those who visit an NHS health professional in England for depression, anxiety or thoughts about self-harm or suicide because of a possible addiction, such as alcohol or drugs, could be at a greater risk of harm from gambling.
Nice said questions should be asked about patients’ gambling habits to ensure they could cope with their thoughts and urges. In new draft guidance, it suggested patients should be encouraged to assess the severity of their gambling by using a questionnaire available on the NHS website. Those who scored eight or higher should seek support and treatment from gambling services.
Health professionals should also discuss software blocking tools to limit online gambling and consider cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as an option.
NHS England has said about 1,400 people were referred for help for gambling addiction last year, up by a third on 2021.
Prof Jonathan Benger, the chief medical officer and interim director of the centre for guidelines at Nice, said: “Harmful gambling causes immense misery to all those who experience it. We want those needing help or who are at risk to be identified sooner and receive appropriate help.”
Since 2019, NHS England has opened 12 gambling treatment clinics, with a further three due to open in the coming months. It is planning to treat up to 3,000 people a year across the 15 facilities, as part of the NHS long-term plan.
Zoë Osmond, the chief executive of GambleAware, also welcomed the draft guidance. “Gambling harms are a serious public health issue, which can affect anyone, and healthcare professionals are ideally placed to identify and help people experiencing them,” she said. “We welcome the development of guidelines to further inform treatment for those seriously affected by gambling harm and will be responding to the consultation with our views.”
Source: The Guardian, 5 October 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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