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** 7 June 2024
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** UK
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** Young people drinking and smoking less than ever – but vaping is booming, NHS figures reveal (#1)
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** Opinion: The huge manifesto holes Labour cannot afford to ignore (#2)
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** International
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** US reverses ban on Juul vaping products (#3)
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** BAT subsidiary lobbies Pakistan to allow export of cigarettes to Sudan (#4)
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** Link of the week
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** New poll shows EVERY parliamentary constituency in Great Britain backs phasing out sale of tobacco (#5)
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** NHS Health Survey (#6)
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** Alert on Philip Morris-funded Foundation name change to Global Action to End Smoking (#7)
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** UK
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** Young people drinking and smoking less than ever – but vaping is booming, NHS figures reveal

Generation Alpha — those born since 2010 — have record-low use of ciggies and alcohol but vaping is booming.

Just three per cent of children aged eight to 15 in 2022 had tried a cigarette, compared with 19 per cent of those the same age in 1997.

Only 14 per cent admitted drinking alcohol — down by two thirds on the 45 per cent who had boozed in 2003.

Although the downturn is being seen as good for our youngsters, they may face other risks from new habits.

One in eight — 12 per cent — has used an e-cigarette, with more recent research suggesting it is one in five. The obesity rate in 11-year-olds is up from 17.5 per cent in 2006 to 23 per cent in 2023.

Prof Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, called cigarette use decline in children “heartening”.

But he warned the rise of e-cigarettes meant there was no room for complacency.

Prof Amelia Lake, public health expert at Teesside University, believes lockdown has changed children’s lives.

She said: “They were locked up in their house with a screen, so their world is quite different to children from not that long ago.”

Source: The Sun, 7 June 2024

See also: NHS Health Survey ([link removed])
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** Opinion: The huge manifesto holes Labour cannot afford to ignore

Writing for the i, Ben Kentish, Westminster Editor, states that Labour’s manifesto will currently be under review by key stakeholders including the shadow cabinet and leaders of affiliated trade unions who will need to sign off before it is published publicly. Kentish writes that this is a key moment for Labour who have not made public many new policies and it will also provide them an opportunity “fill in some of the gaping holes in the party’s plans”.

Kentish states that the first of these issues is social care which has been “shamefully neglected by both main parties for many years”, resulting in a system that is now on the brink of collapse. Labour have previously spoken about a National Care Service but have not discussed how this would be funded and said it could take 10 years to implement fully, an amount of time beleaguered social services cannot afford to wait.

The second area Labour should be more forthcoming on is housing, Kentish writes. Whilst they have pledged to increase the housing stock available, they could go further by allowing council to cap rent, pause the right to buy scheme and it should detail exactly how they intend to make councils and developers build more new homes.

Kentish states the third area where Labour need to be bold is on childcare. The costs of having children in the UK are among the highest in the developed world. This forces many parents to leave work or cut back on hours, which costs the economy an estimated £27bn. It also means many couples are deciding to not have children resulting in a historically low birthrate in the UK.

Kentish notes that this is not an exhaustive list but would show that Labour do have a plan to the alleviate some of “biggest brakes on the UK economy and improve life for millions of people bearing the brunt of past political failures to address these issues.”

Kentish concludes by saying that the Shadow Chancellor needs to consider how they will find the additional money needed to properly fund public services but that the “issues Britain faces cannot be resolved on the cheap” and as such those who can afford to pay more should be asked to do so.

Source: The i, 7 June 2024
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** International
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** US reverses ban on Juul vaping products

The US has reversed its ban on products sold by Juul, one of the country's top e-cigarette companies.

The ban was put in place in 2022 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the country saw a rapid rise in vaping use by teenagers.

The FDA said the change didn't amount to authorising the products for sale and that a full review of Juul's products is pending.

The firm's products have remained on shelves while it appealed the FDA's initial decision and they will continue to be available.

All e-cigarette products are required to have FDA authorisation to be legally marketed.

On Thursday, the FDA said the action is " being taken, in part, as a result of the new case law, as well as the FDA’s review of information provided by the applicant".

Juul, which was founded in California in 2015 by a pair of smokers, has marketed itself as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes.

But the products, which contain high concentrations of nicotine, drew criticism after use among teenagers exploded.

Critics blamed the rise on the colourful packaging, a variety of flavours and the use of young models in marketing campaigns.

In 2022 - when the FDA banned the products - the agency said the company's applications didn't include "sufficient evidence" to show the marketing of the products met public health standards required by law.

It specifically noted potentially harmful chemicals leaching from e-liquid pods.

That same year, the company settled more than 5,000 US vaping lawsuits after it was accused of targeting teenagers and separately, agreed to pay hundreds of millions to end a review of its advertising practices.

Source: The BBC, 6 June 2024
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** BAT subsidiary lobbies Pakistan to allow export of cigarettes to Sudan

A subsidiary of British American Tobacco is lobbying the government of Pakistan to allow it to export 10-packs of cigarettes to war-torn Sudan, prompting criticism from a smoking campaign group.

Pakistan is among more than 80 countries that do not permit the sale or manufacture of 10-packs of cigarettes, which the World Health Organization has said make smoking more affordable for children.

But BAT’s subsidiary, Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC), has written to the government’s health ministry to lobby for a change in the law that would allow it to make smaller packs there, for export to Sudan and other countries where they are not prohibited.

In a leaked letter seen by the Guardian, PTC said it had “received a new export order to manufacture for Sudan, which includes packs of 10 cigarettes”.

PTC said that Sudan, which is in the grip of a civil war that is estimated to have claimed as many as 150,000 lives, does not ban the sale of 10-packs.

The company told the Islamabad government that changing the law would “benefit Pakistan” because the order was worth $20.5m and could be repeated, bringing valuable dollar currency reserves into Pakistan.

Mark Hurley, vice-president at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), said smaller packs were particularly likely to appeal to under-18s.

“It is beyond shameful that British American Tobacco is seeking to alter the law in Pakistan so that it can flood an African country in crisis with cheap cigarettes,” he said.

He said more than 80 countries around the world had enacted laws requiring a minimum of 20 cigarettes a pack “because evidence shows these cheap packs are used to target kids and vulnerable populations”.

“Exploiting not only this knowledge but a country facing a humanitarian crisis is the behaviour of a company that will truly stop at nothing to sell and addict more people to cigarettes.”

Source: The Guardian, 7 June 2024
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** Link of the week
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** New poll shows EVERY parliamentary constituency in Great Britain backs phasing out sale of tobacco

New analysis by YouGov and published by ASH ahead of the general election shows majority support for phasing out the sale of tobacco among adults in every constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. Headline findings include:

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** Support in Great Britain averaged 69%,[1] and ranged between 57% and 74% for individual constituencies
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** Two thirds of 11-15 year olds also back the ban – the first generation to whom the sale of tobacco will be banned
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Read Here ([link removed])


** NHS Health Survey

This report includes results from the 2022 Health Survey for England describing cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use, physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Key findings include:

• Current cigarette smoking has declined steadily from 27% in 1993 to 13% in 2022.
• Adults living in the most deprived areas were more likely to smoke cigarettes (21%) than those living in the least deprived areas (9%).
• In 2022, 9% of adults currently used e-cigarettes. Current cigarette smokers were more likely to use e-cigarettes compared with those who have never smoked cigarettes (26% and 2%, respectively).
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** Alert on Philip Morris-funded Foundation name change to Global Action to End Smoking

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have put out an alert to notify the public health community that the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, funded by tobacco company Philip Morris, and which WHO previously advised against partnering with in 2017, has changed its name to Global Action to End Smoking. WHO urges governments and the public health community to remain vigilant and prioritize genuine, independent public health efforts to end tobacco and nicotine use.
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

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