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Opinion: The Tory right has never understood freedom
Writing in the Times, weekly columnist Mathew Parris, argues that recent arguments made by the Conservative right surrounding the freedom to smoke reveal “yet another example of double standards and prejudice”.
In response to Liz Truss’s accusation that a smoking ban will only extend the Nanny State, Parris recaps many of the government interventions which have reduced smoking rates over the past decades, including public education, packaging regulations, bans on smoking in public places and price increases through excise duty.
“Nanny has been busy…well, good for Nanny I say!” Parris writes, arguing that “Nanny State” measures have saved tens of millions from death and disability.
Parris also points out that the right is quick to abandon arguments of individual freedom and liberty when it disapproves of the issue at hand. Parris asks, “where were most of these Tories when Tony Blair’s government brought in civil
partnerships - an extension of individual liberty if ever there was one…They were in the No lobby every time”. When it was time to vote on same sex marriage, those who have been outspoken against the smoking ban, Sir Edward Leigh MP, Boris Johnson, Phillip Davies MP, all voted against.
Beyond longstanding objections to increasing LGBT individual liberties, Parris gives other examples of instances where the Tory right has been distinctly against liberties such as freedom of speech or the right to protest. Instead, Parris suggests, waiting to launch their concern for freedom for when the government is trying to discourage industry from pushing unhealthy foods to obese consumers, as if diabetes, heart disease and early death are not restrictions on liberty.
Parris concludes by questioning the selective advocacy for freedom by the Tory right and emphasizing the interconnectedness of individual choices with societal impacts.
Source: The Times, 3 February 2024
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Warning about children using nicotine pouches after seeing Premier League footballers take them during matches
More than 200 schools have been warned that 'snus' nicotine pouches are the 'new thing on the block', with Premier League footballers and TikTok influencers being blamed for getting children hooked on the legal high.
Unlike traditional snus, which has been illegal to buy and sell in the UK since 1992, these modern pouches do not contain tobacco but are similarly placed between the lip and gum so the nicotine can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Alarmingly, a lack of regulation means that under-18s can currently legally purchase these addictive pouches, some of which are pumped with more than double the amount of nicotine a pack of cigarette contains.
Teen Tips, the online wellbeing hub which sent a briefing out about the pouches to its member schools, fumed that it is 'really unhelpful' seeing Premier League players and influencers talking about the products and using them.
The organisation's founder, Alicia Drummond, told MailOnline: 'These influencers have got to start taking some responsibility and understanding they are being followed by young people who are vulnerable.'
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to ban the pouches to under-18s as part of a government crackdown to protect children from the dangers of smoking and vaping.
Some brands, including Nordic Spirit, say their pouches cannot be sold to under-18s, but without sufficient laws in place, shopkeepers cannot be prosecuted for selling the product to a child.
Deborah Arnott, CEO of Action on Smoking & Health, agreed that these pouches are not as rife as disposable vapes but has been calling for them to be banend to under-18s for a long time.
“There's a need for regulation, there should be an age of sale, they should be required to be notified in same way e-cigarettes are,” she told MailOnline.
“There's no sort of regulation, they could put anything in them. We want to see them regulated, we've been pushing for that for years.”
Discussing the marketing techniques used by retailers, Ms Arnott explained that the pouches are not subjected to the same advertising roles because they are not included in the Tobacco and Related Products Bill.
They are only regulated under general consumer product safety regulations.
Source: The Daily Mail, 4 February 2024
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Scotland expected to raise minimum alcohol price by 30%
The minimum price of alcoholic drinks in Scotland is poised to rise by 30% under measures to control alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations.
Ministers in Edinburgh are expected to confirm that the minimum unit price for alcohol will increase from 50p to 65p from early May, six years after Scotland became the first part of the UK to introduce the policy.
Public Health Scotland said last year that minimum pricing had been “associated” with a 13.5% fall in deaths wholly attributable to alcohol, compared with the expected death rate had minimum pricing not been in force.
Yet Scotland has experienced a 25% rise in alcohol-related deaths over the past three years, while the number of people using alcohol treatment services has fallen by 40% over the past decade, increasing the pressure on ministers.
Willie Rennie, the former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and its now its economy spokesperson, who has long championed the measure, said he was glad ministers had listened.
“More than 20 people a week in Scotland die due to alcohol misuse, so we need to take steps to stop alcohol wrecking lives and communities,” he said. “That’s before you even get to the pressure that it imposes on our health and justice systems.”
Scottish Labour supports the policy but has called for an additional alcohol levy on retailers to tax the unearned profits retailers earn from minimum pricing, with the proceeds passed directly to the NHS and efforts to combat addiction.
It estimated a levy could raise £57m a year if a non-domestic rates surcharge of 13p was imposed. It would be similar to a public health supplement Scotland levied on supermarkets between 2012 and 2015, which raised £95m.
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “The Scottish government has recognised the increasing number of deaths from alcohol as a public health emergency, but to tackle this issue needs appropriate funding.”
Minimum pricing was first proposed by the Scottish National party in 2008 to combat Scotland’s soaring alcohol-related deaths and binge-drinking, in a move since mirrored by the Welsh government. Similar plans by the UK government for England stalled and are no longer being considered.
The Scottish policy was challenged in court by the Scotch Whisky Association but in 2017 the UK supreme court ruled that it was “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim” and lawful on health grounds under EU law.
Source: The Guardian, 5 February 2024
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International: Panama To Host Anti-tobacco Talks As Industry Courts New, Younger Smokers
A global anti-tobacco meeting opens in Panama on Monday to halt the harmful consequences of smoking, as tobacco companies endeavour to hook more users -- including children -- with addictive products.
Delegates from more than 180 countries will gather in Panama City for the biennial meeting, which will focus on tobacco advertising and sponsorship -- as well as new tobacco products, such as trendy electronic cigarettes.
The number of smokers around the world is steadily dropping, but the World Health Organization warned earlier this month that Big Tobacco was working hard to attract young people.
The main meeting will be followed by talks on the elimination of illegal tobacco products, which will be attended by around 70 countries.
The convention secretariat warned ahead of the meeting of a conflict of interest as "some parties have been approached by the tobacco and other industry representatives, to offer travel and technical support, including advisors."
According to the WHO, in 2022, about one in five adults around the world were smokers or consumed other tobacco products, compared to one in every three in 2000.
A fresh WHO report looking at trends in the prevalence of tobacco use between 2000 and 2030 showed that 150 countries were successfully reducing tobacco use through regulation, high taxes and other measures.
However, Ruediger Krech, director of the WHO's health promotion department, said earlier this month that the tobacco industry was using "criminal efforts" to undermine this progress and attract youngsters.
Source: Barron’s, 2 February 2024
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