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UK anti-smoking policies ‘comparable with sanitation reform in 19th century’
Public health initiatives on smoking in the UK are comparable in scale with the interventions made regarding clean water and sanitation in the 19th century, a leading expert has said.
Sir Richard Peto, emeritus professor of medical statistics and epidemiology at the University of Oxford, worked alongside the scientist Richard Doll, who uncovered a direct link between smoking and cancer 70 years ago on Wednesday.
Peto said the current landscape regarding smoking in the UK had changed significantly since he began his career in the 1960s, when the dangers of smoking were not taken seriously.
Since that time smoking has led to the deaths of about 9 million people in the UK, and is responsible for nearly one-fifth of new cancer cases every year.
“Throughout the 1950s and 1960s cigarette consumption in Britain was rising at one point,” Peto said. “You’d see a group of four people sitting smoking, and think that on average, one of the four is going to get killed before 70.”
He added that at the time it had seemed the warnings regarding the dangers of smoking that Peto and other researchers made did not get through to the public. “The general population didn’t believe it, even lawyers and architects didn’t. Many journalists didn’t take tobacco seriously in the 1970s,” Peto said. “Even in the headquarters of Britain’s Medical Research Council there were ashtrays all around the committee rooms.”
“The 1997 election was a turning point. Labour pursued an EU-wide advertising ban, after which both major parties have been serious about reducing tobacco deaths.”
But he cautioned that prevention efforts may be hindered by the fact tobacco deaths have become normalised, with the harmful effects of smoking being widely known, in comparison with a novel illness such as Covid-19.
“If we look at the coronavirus pandemic, it was new so it became news. We had 200,000 coronavirus deaths in this country due to the pandemic,” Peto said. “At the same time we have 300,000 tobacco deaths and nobody mentioned it as it’s not news … we are desensitised to it compared to coronavirus.”
Commenting on the significance of the anniversary since the link between tobacco and cancer was revealed, Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, said: “[Smoking] is still the biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and the single biggest driver of health inequalities. Research shows that nothing would have a bigger impact on reducing the number of preventable deaths than ending smoking.
“History shows that smoking rates decline with government action. That’s why it’s vital that the next government re-commits to legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco products in the first king’s speech. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to save lives, alleviate pressure on the NHS and leave a lasting legacy.”
Source: The Guardian, 25 June 2024
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The Guardian view on smoking and public health: the fight against big tobacco continues
This editorial in the Guardian marks the 70th anniversary of British government recognising that smoking causes lung cancer. The article references an interview with Sir Richard Peto who was part of a team who first discovered the harms of tobacco, published in the landmark British Doctor’s study in 1954.
However, the article points out that there was no sudden shift following this discovery with millions of people refusing to believe that smoking was harmful as late as the 1990’s. There was disbelief that the government would have allowed a dangerous product to be advertised for so long. But gradually advertising regulations became more restrictive, sponsorship of sports teams was banned and then in 2007 the indoor smoking ban was introduced.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would have banned the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008, is described as “the culmination of a decades-long process.” The article highlights big tobacco’s “efforts to muzzle its critics” but argues that with the Bill “the tobacco industry lost a crucial argument.”
The authors are critical of the Conservatives’ “atrocious” record on public health, but reflect that if pre-election promises are kept, seven decades since the risks of smoking were realised “people growing up today are likely to gain increased protection from this deadly habit, seven decades after the risks of smoking were established.”
Source: The Guardian, 25 June 2024
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The US Is Being Flooded by Chinese Vapes
In late March, a smoke shop in Dyersburg, Tennessee, announced the arrival of a new product in its store: a disposable nicotine vape with an LCD display that can be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Marketed under the brand name RAMA, the strawberry- and kiwi-flavored vape looks more like a cell phone from the early 2000s than a typical e-cigarette.
Far from a one-off novelty, the RAMA model is part of a wave of technologically sophisticated and highly potent disposable vapes that have begun appearing on shelves in smoke shops and convenience stores across the United States in recent months, according to industry data, social media posts, and other records viewed by WIRED.
Almost exclusively manufactured in China, the vapes are colorful and come in eye-catching metallic finishes, squishy silicone textures, and rounded shapes that fit comfortably in a person’s hand. But what really sets them apart are LCD screens, which make the devices even more harmful for the environment than normal disposable vapes. And like the vast majority of all e-cigarettes available in [US] stores, they are technically illegal and haven’t been approved for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration.
These so-called smart vapes are the product of an innovation boom taking place in China’s $28 billion e-cigarette export industry. It was spurred, in part, by the United States’ lax enforcement of nicotine regulations. The US accounts for nearly two-thirds of Chinese vape exports, according to the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce. From 2020 to 2023, the CDC foundation estimates that sales of non-tobacco-flavoured vapes in the US surged more than 60 percent, increasing from 11.2 million to 18 million units.
The proliferation of disposable flavoured vapes from China has alarmed lawmakers in both the US and Europe. Regulators say they are especially worried about the impact the devices are having on children, who may find the sweet flavours and flashy designs they come in particularly appealing.
In the US, youth vaping rates have dropped roughly 60 percent since 2019, when e-cigarettes made by the American brand Juul were a trendy accessory at schools across the country. Last year, 7.7 percent of students reported using e-cigarettes at least once in the past month, according to an annual government survey. The majority said they preferred disposable devices, including from Chinese brands.
All of these vapes have one crucial thing in common: They contain an enormous amount of nicotine. One study published last year found that, between 2017 and 2022, the average volume of e-liquid in disposable vapes sold in the US increased more than 500 percent from 1.1 millilitres to 5.7 millilitres, while the average strength of the nicotine juice itself increased almost 300 percent from 1.7 percent concentration to 5 percent concentration.
Source: Wired, 25 June 2024
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FDA authorized the sale of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes – a health policy expert explains how the benefits may outweigh the risks
The Conversation interviewed Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Policy, UMass Amherst, to explain the evidence surrounding the FDAs decision to authorise the sale of menthol e-cigarettes.
This is the first time that the FDA has authorised a flavour that is not designed to taste like tobacco, instead allowing menthol, naturally found in peppermint to be used to flavour vape liquid.
Research shows that nontobacco, e-liquid flavours are more appealing than tobacco flavours, including to young people. The FDA has previously denied applications for menthol e-cigarettes, stating that the applications “did not present sufficient scientific evidence to show that the potential benefit to adult smokers outweighs the risks of youth initiation and use.”
This means the FDA needs to weigh whether the potential benefits of the product – in other words, its ability to help adults quit smoking – outweigh its risks, including its appeal to youth. Though not risk-free, e-cigarettes are considered much less harmful than smoking. This means that adults who switch from smoking to vaping may benefit from improvements in their health.
Responding to a question about the current availability of flavoured vapes in the US, Hartmann-Boyce explains that many Americans report using flavoured e-liquids, with sweet, fruit and mint and menthol flavours being the most popular. This is in part because many vaping products available in the US haven’t been authorized for marketing or sale. These are referred to as illicit products. In addition, some of the products currently available are still being reviewed by the FDA.
Finally, when asked about the health risks associated with vaping, Hartmann-Boyce explained that the best available evidence does not point to any increased risk from menthol vs tobacco flavoured vapes. Research does show however, that it might increase vape uptake, which is good news for getting people to quit smoking, which poses greater risks.
Source: The Conversation, 25 June 2024
See also: FDA Approves First-Ever Menthol Vapes—As Biden Admin Delays Menthol Cigarette Ban
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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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