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Thousands dying needlessly from cancer in UK, report says
Thousands of people are dying needlessly from cancer because the UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to survival rates, a damning report says.
Big strides forward have been made in treating the disease over the past 50 years, according to the study by Cancer Research UK, but slow and late diagnosis coupled with treatment delays mean the progress is “at risk of stalling”.
League tables drawn up by international researchers and cited by the charity show the UK has the worst survival rates in five out of seven forms of cancer compared with Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and New Zealand.
About 20,000 deaths could be avoided every year in the UK by 2040 if ministers adopted a bold new plan for the condition, Cancer Research UK said.
The report said cancer was a “fixable problem”. Three decades ago the UK and Denmark were improving cancer outcomes at broadly the same rate but Denmark has “raced ahead, with consistent funding and long-term cancer strategies”.
It said: “Across the UK, cancer waiting times are being consistently missed, and some have not been met for over a decade. While they wait for diagnosis and treatment, patients and their families face an anxious and worrying time.
“Investment in prevention, NHS staff, equipment and facilities is needed to turn the tide.”
The report said the “inequalities in who gets and dies from cancer are stark, with more than 33,000 cases each year across the UK attributable to deprivation”.
The report also said four in 10 cancers in the UK were preventable, with thousands of cases caused by unhealthy lifestyles and smoking.
Cancer Research UK said that within a year of the next general election, ministers should have raised the age of sale of tobacco products and implemented the 2022 legislation on TV and online advertising restrictions on foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “Cancer is the defining health issue of our time. Avoiding thousands of cancer deaths is possible but it will take leadership, political will, investment and reform.
“The impact of cancer is immense. We estimate that half a million people – friends, colleagues and loved ones – will be diagnosed with the disease every year by 2040. Their lives are at stake if we don’t act now.”
Source: The Guardian, 28 November 2023
See also: Cancer Research UK - Longer, better lives: A manifesto for cancer research and care
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Anger over New Zealand's U-turn on smoking ban
Plans by New Zealand's new government to ditch its world-first smoking ban were today attacked by health experts.
Public health experts said the reversal was 'extremely concerning', warning the move would cost thousands of lives.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), called it a 'purely political decision'.
She said: 'Repealing the smoke-free generation policy is purely a political decision by New Zealand's National Party in order to secure the handful of votes it needs from a libertarian party to form a government.
'The idea that by doing so it could fund tax cuts is ludicrous.
'In the UK, analysis shows smoking costs public finances nearly double tobacco tax revenues, so there's no way that repealing the legislation can fund tax cuts.'
Discussing the U-turn, Professor Richard Edwards, a public health expert at the University of Otago, told the BBC: 'We are appalled and disgusted, this is an incredibly retrograde step on world-leading, absolutely excellent health measures.'
He added: 'Most health groups in New Zealand are appalled by what the government's done and are calling on them to backtrack.'
Professor Caitlin Notley, a professor of addiction sciences at the University of East Anglia, today branded the U-turn 'dangerous', adding: 'It is extremely concerning that a complete about-turn to the progressive approach to eradicating tobacco smoking in New Zealand is now being proposed.
'This sends a dangerous message that preventing tobacco smoking — the leading cause of early death and disease — is not a priority.
'The world had looked to the previous New Zealand government as global leaders in bold proposals that would accelerate the country towards a future free of tobacco smoking.'
She added: 'The sudden shift away from the previously proposed 'tobacco endgame' policies therefore will undoubtedly further widen health inequalities between Māori and non-Māori populations.'
Under UK proposals outlined in the Kings Speech earlier this month, kids born after 2009 will never legally be able to buy tobacco.
The Government believes that, if enacted, the phased ban will lead to 1.7million fewer people smoking by 2075 — saving tens of thousands of lives, and avoiding avoid up to 115,000 cases of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases.
At the time, experts and charities all commended the move, described as the 'biggest public health intervention in a generation'.
Source: Daily Mail, 27 November 2023
See also: Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation
How tobacco lobby influences policy as New Zealand U-turns on smoking ban
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Vaping: Australia to ban disposable vape imports from January
Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children.
New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied in the country will also be introduced.
It has been illegal for any Australian to purchase or import e-cigarettes or nicotine vapes without a doctor's prescription since 2021, but despite those restrictions rates of addiction have continued to skyrocket.
A study from the University of Sydney earlier this year found that over a quarter of teenagers aged 14-17 had vaped, while research from Australia's Cancer Council charity found that nine out of 10 teenagers in the same age group found it easy to access nicotine vapes.
"All Australian governments are committed to working together to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people," said Mark Butler, the federal health minister who is leading the ban.
Source: BBC News, 28 November 2023
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