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** 22 May 2024
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** UK
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** Northern Ireland on course to join UK smoking ban (#3)
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** Sharp rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40 in UK (#1)
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** UK
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** Northern Ireland on course to join UK smoking ban
Stormont has backed Northern Ireland becoming part of a new Westminster law that would stop young people born since 2009 from ever smoking.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to phase out the sale of cigarettes. It would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, after they turn 18. It would also provide powers aimed at addressing vaping among young people. The bill is part of the UK government's plan for a "smoke-free generation".
The Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday endorsed a legislative consent motion (LCM) to enable the bill to apply to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann said the bill aims to "stop people from ever starting to smoke, thus preventing a lifetime of addiction". He dismissed arguments that the bill is "nanny statism" and would deny people "freedom of choice".
More than 2,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses in Northern Ireland every year. Treating these conditions costs the NHS in Northern Ireland more than £200m, according to the Department of Health.
On vapes, he said the bill includes regulation-making powers to allow for future restrictions on vape flavours, packaging and point-of-sale displays.
The bill is progressing through Parliament despite opposition from several leading Tory figures.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) also voted against the bill in the Commons, but said they plan to work on improving the legislation.
DUP assembly member Diane Dodds said it was "important that we are part of the UK-wide legislation". She added the bill "as drafted does have significant challenges" and her party's MPs "will be working to try to use their influences".
Mrs Dodds also questioned whether the bill would be affected by EU post-Brexit trade rules under the Windsor Framework.
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister told assembly members the Republic of Ireland and Denmark had been unable to introduce similar laws due to EU rules.
The Irish government is instead planning a ban on the sale of tobacco products for those aged under 21.
Source: BBC News, 21 May 2024
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** Sharp rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40 in UK
The number of people under 40 being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK has risen 39% in six years, fuelled by soaring obesity levels and cheap junk food.
Britain has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the NHS spends £6bn a year treating obesity-related ill-health. That is forecast to rise to £10bn a year by 2050.
New figures from Diabetes UK show cases of type 2 among under-40s have increased to almost 168,000 from 120,000 in 2016/17. Diagnoses are rising at a significantly faster pace than among over-40s, for whom the increase was 25% in six years.
Many of the measures promised in the 2020 national food strategy have been ditched, watered down or kicked into the long grass.
The chief executive of Diabetes UK, Colette Marshall, said the rise in type 2 diabetes among children and young adults was alarming and called on ministers to urgently address the crisis.
“Drastic changes to the environments we live in and the food we eat over the last 25 years are taking a toll on our health,” she said. “We are bombarded by adverts for cheaper, unhealthy food. The foods on our shelves are increasingly high in fat, salt and sugar. And rising costs are pushing a healthy diet out of reach for millions.
“These conditions, combined with genetic factors and stark inequalities, are driving rising levels of obesity, which increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”
The report published on Wednesday said people faced a more aggressive and acute form of diabetes when it developed at a younger age.
“It is also associated with an increased risk of more rapid onset of devastating complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, sight loss and even an early death,” it said.
The report also blamed “gross inequalities”, with people from the most deprived areas and those from black and south Asian backgrounds more likely to develop the condition.
It warned of a growing impact on the economy, with 43,000 people out of work as a result of long-term sickness “primarily because of their diabetes, a 79% increase since 2019”.
The government says it is tackling child obesity, but ministers have postponed measures including a 9pm junk-food advertising watershed and bans on online ads and unhealthy buy-one-get-one-free deals until October 2025.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS has invested significantly in services to help people prevent, manage and, in some cases, reverse type 2 diabetes, including specific support for people under the age of 40 – but it is clear that reversing this trend requires concerted action across industry, government and society to tackle obesity.”
Source: The Guardian, 22 May 2024
See also: Reversing the trend: Reducing type 2 diabetes in young people ([link removed])
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