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** 17 January 2024
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** UK
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** How smoking rates in the UK compare to the world as global tobacco use decreases (#1)
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** Vaping while pregnant does not increase risk of harm (#2)
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** UK inflation unexpectedly rises as cost of tobacco and alcohol increases (#3)
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** Wakefield: Thousands of illegal vapes seized during crackdown (#4)
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** UK
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** How smoking rates in the UK compare to the world as global tobacco use decreases
The use of tobacco products is in decline globally, a report has revealed, with the British smoking population estimated to be half that of 2010.
About 24.1 per cent of the British population aged 15 and over reported using a tobacco product in 2010, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The figure is projected to drop to 12.5 per cent next year, a reduction of about 48 per cent.
The WHO tobacco trends report released on Tuesday found a continued decline in tobacco use rates globally in 2022, with about one in five adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to one in three in 2000.
The WHO report, which analysed data on both smoked and smokeless tobacco, showed that 150 countries were successfully reducing tobacco use.
Six countries, however, were still seeing tobacco use rising – Congo, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Oman and Moldova.
The percentage of the population using smoked tobacco in 2022 – including cigarettes, roll-your-own and shisha, among others – was an estimated 14.2 per cent in the UK, lower than in France (34.6 per cent), Spain (28.4 per cent), Italy (22.4 per cent) and Germany (21.3 per cent).
The south-east Asian region, consisting of 11 countries including India, Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand, had the highest percentage of population using tobacco in 2022 at 26.5 per cent, with the European region not far behind at 25.3 per cent.
The report showed that by 2030, the European region, consisting of 53 countries, is projected to have the highest rates globally with a prevalence of just over 23 per cent.
The report found 1.25 billion people aged 15 or over used tobacco in 2022, compared with 1.36 billion in 2000.
Tobacco use is set to fall further by 2030 to around 1.2 billion people even as the world’s population grows, according to the study.
Source: The i, 16 January 2024
See also: WHO - Tobacco use declines despite tobacco industry efforts to jeopardize progress ([link removed].)
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** Vaping while pregnant does not increase risk of harm
Using e-cigarettes or nicotine patches while pregnant does not harm the mum or baby, new research shows.
Researchers say it should be recommended to pregnant mums who usually smoke.
The team, from Queen Mary University of London, used data from more than 1,100 pregnant smokers who attended 23 hospitals in England and one stop-smoking service in Scotland to compare pregnancy outcomes.
The study, published in the journal Addiction, concluded that regular use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) during pregnancy is not associated with adverse pregnancy events or poor pregnancy outcomes.
Nearly half of participants (47%) used vapes and just over a fifth (21%) used nicotine patches.
‘The trial contributes answers to two important questions, one practical and one concerning our understanding of risks of smoking,’ said lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek.
‘E-cigarettes helped pregnant smokers quit without posing any detectable risks to pregnancy, compared with stopping smoking without further nicotine use.
‘Using nicotine-containing aids to stop smoking in pregnancy thus appears safe.
‘The harms to pregnancy from smoking, in late pregnancy at least, seem to be due to other chemicals in tobacco smoke rather than nicotine.’
Co-investigator Professor Linda Bauld, from the University of Edinburgh, said: ‘Clinicians, pregnant women and their families have questions about the safety of using nicotine replacement therapy or e-cigarettes during pregnancy.
‘Women who continue to smoke during pregnancy often find it difficult to stop but products like NRT or e-cigarettes can help them to do so.
‘These results suggest that NRT or vaping can be used as part of a quit attempt without adverse effects.
‘Our findings should be reassuring, and provide further important evidence to guide decision-making on smoking cessation during pregnancy.’
Source: Metro, 17 January 2024
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** See also: Addiction - Safety of e-cigarettes and nicotine patches as stop-smoking aids in pregnancy: Secondary analysis of the Pregnancy Trial of E-cigarettes and Patches (PREP) randomized controlled trial ([link removed])
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** UK inflation unexpectedly rises as cost of tobacco and alcohol increases
UK inflation rose unexpectedly to 4.0% in December in the first increase for 10 months, complicating the timing of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year.
The Office for National Statistics said annual inflation as measured by the consumer prices index went up from the 3.9% reading in November, confounding City economists’ forecasts of a modest decline to 3.8%.
The increase in the annual rate was largely the result of a government increase in tobacco duty, after the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced higher taxes in the autumn statement. Tobacco prices rose by 16% on the year, as the cost of buying alcohol and tobacco contributed the most to inflation since 2006.
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said the tobacco price rises “were offset partially by falling food inflation, where prices still rose but at a much lower rate than this time last year. Meanwhile, the prices of goods leaving factories are little changed over the last few months, while the costs of raw materials remain lower than a year ago.”
Source: The Guardian, 17 January 2024
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** Wakefield: Thousands of illegal vapes seized during crackdown
More than 5,000 illegal vapes and cigarettes have been seized in an undercover sting targeting shops in the Wakefield area.
Police and the council carried out a number of test purchases on Saturday in South Kirkby and South Elmsall after concerns about sales to children.
At one store in South Kirkby, 5,159 illegal vapes worth a total of about £75,000 were found.
Insp Glen Costello, of West Yorkshire Police, said the test purchases were a result of concerns raised by the local community.
"If anyone has any information about crime or anti-social behaviour in their area then I would urge them to report it to us," he said.
Source: BBC news, 16 January 2024
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