View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** 3 July 2024
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


** Opinion: Is sugar the missing ingredient in election manifestos? (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Tobacco worth £300k uncovered in raid (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


** International
------------------------------------------------------------


** Members of the House of Keys to consider bid to tighten tobacco sale laws (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


** Opinion: Is sugar the missing ingredient in election manifestos?

Writing for the BBC, Hugh Pym, the BBC’s health editor, discusses the lack of plans around prevention in party manifestos, particularly regarding obesity.

Pym writes that tackling excessive sugar consumption would be a vital component in driving improved population health but that it only appears twice in the manifestos of the 5 major parties.

The author writes that the government has introduced policies on sugar consumption in the past, most notably in 2018 with the high sugar soft drinks tax which resulted in a 35% drop in the amount of total sugar sold in soft drinks between 2015 and 2019. Pym writes that on the back of this success, attention turned to sugary foods with the then Prime Minister David Cameron close to announcing a ban on “buy one get one free” deals on unhealthy foods and a restriction on TV adverts on junk food.

Pym notes that political turmoil and the pandemic meant that these policies and similar efforts to restrict consumption of foods high in sugar and fat fell out of fashion.

The author states that England’s obesity rates are rising fast, with the proportion of adults classified as overweight or obese increasing from 61.2% in 2015 to 63.8% in 2021. Pym also points to a report in the Lancet that found the UK fared worse than comparable countries in Europe with 27% of men being obese compared to Germany (23%), Spain (19%), Italy (18%), and France (10%).

Pym discusses why governments have not done more to tackle the rising obesity rates. He states that some politicians are concerned about accusations of a “nanny state” whilst there is also pushback from business leaders in response to proposals for new taxes on food and drink. Pym also notes that these policies often require cross-department cooperation which can take time and doesn’t make for a “snappy manifesto headline”.

Concluding, Pym quotes Amanda Pritchard, the head of NHS England who recently said “Will we tackle problems at source, or do we accept the NHS becomes an expensive safety net?".

Source: BBC, 30 June 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])


** Tobacco worth £300k uncovered in raid

Tobacco worth an estimated £300,000 has been uncovered in a raid on a housing estate.

Officers also found packaging and equipment used to produce counterfeit goods at a property in Redgrave Close, Gateshead, on Monday morning.

Police estimated that if all the empty rolling tobacco pouches were filled, they would have a potential street value of about £3.3m.

A 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of applying a false trademark to material and taken into custody.

Chief Inspector Thomas Hart, of Northumbria Police, said profits from the sale of illegal tobacco were often reinvested into "more serious and organised criminality".

“By removing the profits from these groups and disrupting production lines of this scale, we take away the power and standing they have in the community," he said.

"It is important to stress that our efforts in this area don’t end here and we’d also encourage anyone who notices anything out of the ordinary or suspicious in their community to come forward with information."

The raid was part of Operation Vienna, a joint initiative with council trading standards' teams.

Source: BBC, 2 July 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])


** International
------------------------------------------------------------


** Members of the House of Keys to consider bid to tighten tobacco sale laws

Proposals to tighten the restrictions on the sale of tobacco and nicotine products on the Isle of Man are set to be considered by a committee.

Michelle Haywood had asked for permission to introduce a private member's bill in the House of Keys, but Members of the House of Keys (MHKs) instead backed calls for a review of the measures proposed.

Dr Haywood had argued her proposals, which would prevent anyone born after 2008 from legally smoking, would "protect children" and "save lives".

But Tim Crookall said the bill could have "unintended consequences" and the subject matter would "benefit from detailed scrutiny".

The three-strong panel of MHKs of Dr Haywood, Stu Peters and Joney Faragher will consider proposed changes to the Children and Young Person's Act 1966 and the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2006.

The proposals put forward by Dr Haywood would expand the definition of tobacco goods to include newer products containing nicotine and strengthen the regulations surrounding their advertising and promotion.

A "generational clause" that would "prevent our children from acquiring a nicotine addition" by banning those born after 2008 from buying tobacco products would also be included in the new laws.

The ban mirrors proposals in the UK that are currently on hold due to the general election, which would ban anyone born after 2009 from purchasing the items.

Dr Haywood said the proposed new legislation would address a "number of gaps" in current laws and could be "one of the biggest advancements in public health for a very long time".

The government could lose "around £300,000 in tobacco duty a year" but that in "no way covers dealing with the cost of smoking and nicotine addiction harms", she said.

Source: BBC, 3 July 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here. ([link removed])

For more information email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
@ASHorguk ([link removed])

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.

============================================================
Our mailing address is:
Action on Smoking and Health
Unit 2.9, The Foundry
17 Oval Way
London
SE11 5RR

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])