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Government drive to phase out smoking and tackle youth vaping attracts large response
Over 12,000 responses so far submitted on government proposals to create first ‘smokefree generation’, less than halfway through consultation period.
The Prime Minister recently announced plans to introduce a historic new law to stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England. He also set out the government’s concerns about the worrying rise in vaping among children and announced a public consultation on plans to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children.
Bolstering efforts to phase out smoking, £70 million has today been allocated by the government for local stop smoking services and support in every local authority in England. This is more than double the current funding available for these services.
The live public consultation – which closes on Wednesday 6 December – also details proposals to prevent underage and illicit sales of tobacco and vapes, with plans to introduce on the spot fines for underage sales. The consultation is open to anyone, of any age, in the UK to share their experiences and opinions and help shape future policy on vaping and smoking.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: ASH congratulates the government for paving the way in the King’s speech for a ground-breaking Bill to create a smokefree generation to be introduced to parliament imminently. No parent, whether they smoke themselves or not, wants their children to grow up to become smokers, which is why the smokefree generation policy is so strongly supported by the public. We will do all we can, working in lockstep with the health community, to ensure that the legislation is passed before the end of this Parliament.
Source: Wired Gov, 8 November 2023
See also: Consultation: Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping
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Health leaders welcome king’s speech setting out the government’s proposals for a smokefree generation
Health campaigners, doctors, local councillors, academics, NHS leaders and survivors of smoking from across England have come together to welcome the government’s legislative plans to create a smokefree generation in November 7, 2023, King’s Speech.
The confirmation that raising the legal age of sale for tobacco will be a key part of the legislative programme is a landmark moment in the history of tobacco control. In 2021, ASH estimated that the tobacco industry had killed eight million people over the previous 50 years but with new legislation the terrible toll of tobacco could become a footnote in history.
Representatives from some of the country’s leading organisations working on tobacco have welcomed the announcement. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Fresh, Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, Humber and North Yorkshire Tobacco Control Programme and London Tobacco Alliance, have come together to build on the momentum of creating a smokefree future.
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of health charity ASH, said, “Tobacco has blighted so many lives, damaging our economy and public services in the process. All the major political parties recognise this impact and are committed to a smokefree future for Britain. Now parliamentarians have a historic opportunity to set this country on a path to end smoking.
“Public support for this change is already high with three in five people backing the measure but this support is likely to grow as parliament debates this legislation and the public are reminded of terrible impact of smoking on society.”
ASH also welcomed the government's commitment to take action to protect children from vaping products. Hazel added, “Vapes have been a valuable aid to help smokers quit but vaping has been growing among teens. Further regulations are needed to ensure products are not promoted or sold to teens. In addition, we’d welcome a further duty on disposable vapes to reduce their affordability for teenagers while ensuring they remain cheaper than lethal tobacco products.”
Ann McNeill, professor of addiction at King’s College London and co-chair of the Mental Health and Smoking Partnership, “There is growing evidence that smoking causes some mental health conditions like depression and schizophrenia. A smokefree generation can be part of a strategy to prevent the growing levels of poor mental health in our society.”
Ruth Sharrock, a respiratory consultant and clinical lead for Tobacco for the North East and North Cumbria NHS ICB, said, “Nobody wants our children to become the next generation of adults with smoking-related illnesses on our hospital wards.
“The government’s consultation provides us with a once-on-a-generation chance to make a difference to young people and enable them to have a life without the addiction, cost and diseases caused by tobacco.”
Source: The Dentist, 9 November 2023
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Electives and capital to be cut after Treasury refuses £1bn strike cash plea
The NHS’s work to bring down the 7 million elective waiting list is being curtailed, after the Treasury refused to fund most of a £1bn NHS deficit driven by strikes.
Local NHS bodies will receive an additional £800m as part of a package to offset the costs of strike action so far this year, NHS England is due to announce today.
However, the vast majority of this will have to come from within existing Department of Health and Social Care and NHSE budgets, after the Treasury refused to fund more.
Local leaders briefed on the move by NHSE last night said it meant they would need to “reset” their plans for elective care, as there would be no new funding from government to try to reduce the waiting list and treat very long waiters.
They are being asked to revise their “trajectories” for trying to meet the government’s flagship target to eliminate 65-week waiters by March, and one senior NHS source on the call said it was “effectively tacit permission that these can slip and are not the priority”.
NHSE is expected to tell local NHS organisations today to “agree the steps required” to live within their new funding allocations.
Source: HSJ, 8 November 2023
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