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UK ministers preparing king’s speech containing at least 30 bills
The government is preparing a packed king’s speech containing at least 30 bills, including sweeping plans on housebuilding, green energy, crime and voter registration, the Guardian has learned.
Labour ministers have drawn up plans for a busy legislative programme focused on delivering the priorities set up in the party’s manifesto.
The speech, which will be delivered by King Charles on Tuesday at the state opening of parliament, is being finalised but is set to include a democracy bill to introduce automatic voter registration. It may also fulfil Labour’s manifesto commitment to lower the voting age to 16.
Ministers will use the king’s speech to resurrect legislation promised by the previous Conservative government, including bills to phase out smoking for the next generation.
House of Lords authorities have scheduled five days of debate on the speech, starting with its announcements on energy, the environment and housebuilding on 18 July.
Following the debates, the government will start introducing the bills. The party has promised to bring forward several pieces of legislation, including on fiscal responsibility and workers’ rights, within its first 100 days in power.
The Commons will break for a four-week summer recess at the end of July before returning at the start of September. Recess was shortened by a week following the election, after Keir Starmer said he wanted more time to set out his government’s first steps.
Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2024
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Study shows second-hand vaping exposure very low compared to second-hand smoking
Children exposed to vaping indoors absorb less than one seventh the amount of nicotine as children who are exposed to indoor smoking, but more than those exposed to neither, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open looked at blood tests and survey data for 1,777 children aged three to 11 in the United States.
The researchers said that second-hand exposure to harmful substances in e-cigarettes would likely be much lower still, as e-cigarettes deliver similar levels of nicotine to tobacco but contain only a fraction of the toxicants and carcinogens.
The researchers looked at nicotine absorption in children, but they said the findings were likely to be similar for adults.
Lead author Dr. Harry Tattan-Birch, of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said, "Our study shows, using data from the real world rather than an artificial lab setting, that nicotine absorption is much lower from second-hand vapor than from second-hand smoking.
"Nicotine itself is of limited risk, but it shows what the highest possible exposure might be from second-hand vaping. Exposure to harmful non-nicotine substances present in vapor will likely be substantially lower still."
Senior author Professor Lion Shahab, of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, said, "This paper suggests that concerns about second-hand vaping may be somewhat overstated, with second-hand exposure to toxic substances likely to be very low.
"The findings confirm the risks of smoking indoors around children, which should be avoided at all costs. However, as second-hand vaping still exposes children to more harmful substances than no vaping or smoking exposure at all, it is best to avoid indoor vaping around children, too."
The study used data from a nationally representative sample of children in the US, collected between 2017 and 2020 as part of the annual US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Blood tests that detected the concentration of cotinine were used to assess how much nicotine the children had absorbed. Cotinine is a chemical the body produces after exposure to nicotine.
Survey responses indicated if the children had been exposed to smoking or vaping indoors in the past week.
The team found that children exposed to indoor vaping absorbed 84% less nicotine than children exposed to indoor smoking, while children exposed to neither absorbed 97% less.
The researchers said their findings had implications for whether vaping should be allowed indoors, providing further evidence that the impact of vaping on bystanders' health will be much less than smoking.
Source: MedicalXpress, 11 July 2024
See also: Jama Network - Secondhand Nicotine Absorption From E-Cigarette Vapor vs Tobacco Smoke in Children
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Obesity jab may help users ward off dementia — and quit smoking
Weight loss injections such as Ozempic could cut the risk of dementia and help people to stop smoking, research has suggested.
A team at Oxford University investigated the link between semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, and mental health or brain conditions.
They found that the drug was associated with a lower risk of cognitive problems such as memory loss — the first signs of dementia — and also helped people to stop smoking.
Semaglutide was not found to have any negative effects on mental health, which experts said should reassure diabetic patients with depression or anxiety that it is safe to take the drug.
The year-long study followed 130,000 patients in America with type 2 diabetes, including more than 20,000 taking semaglutide. Those taking semaglutide were not at any increased risk of brain or psychiatric conditions, including dementia, depression or anxiety, compared with patients on other anti-diabetic drugs.
Semaglutide was also found to lower the risk of nicotine dependence, adding to evidence that it could be used to treat addictions and help people to quit cigarettes or alcohol.
The researchers said that their study provided the “first robust evidence” that the drug might boost brainpower and protect against addictions.
Dr Riccardo De Giorgi, the lead author, said: “Our results suggest that semaglutide use could extend beyond managing diabetes, potentially offering unexpected benefits in the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline and substance misuse.
“The findings of our study therefore not only help reassure the millions of patients relying on semaglutide for diabetes management, but, if confirmed, might also have significant implications for public health in terms of reducing cognitive deficit and smoking rates among patients with diabetes.”
Source: The Times, 11 July 2024
See also: eClincalMedicine - 12-month neurological and psychiatric outcomes of semaglutide use for type 2 diabetes: a propensity-score matched cohort study
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Biggest ever fall in maternal smoking after NHS prevention scheme expanded
Last year saw the biggest ever fall in the proportion of mothers smoking during pregnancy, which campaigners have attributed to expansion of a “stop smoking” programme in maternity services.
Newly published figures for this key public health indicator show the figure dropped by more than a percentage point from 2022-23 to 2023-24, for the first time since 2007-8. The absolute fall in mothers recorded as smoking at the time of delivery was about 6,300.
Anti-smoking charities said it ”follows sustained investment to provide better quit support” and “shows what can be done with proper investment in evidence-based support”.
They said continuing the fall would require further funding and expansion of prevention programmes — as government had promised when it proposed legislation to incrementally ban tobacco sales — and urged government to stick to existing plans to expand vouchers given as incentives for pregnant women to stop smoking.
John Waldron, of the Action on Smoking and Health charity, which coordinates a “smoking in pregnancy challenge group”, said that “following a long period of stagnation” the UK is now “witnessing record falls in rates of maternal smoking”.
Much of the new intervention work is done by midwives, and Royal College of Midwives professional policy advisor Clare Livingstone said the drop was “a testament to the dedication and hard work of our maternity services” which had “integrat[ed] smoking cessation support into routine care”.
Association of Directors of Public Health chief executive Nicola Close said: “Stop smoking services, which are paid for by the public health grant [to local authorities], have been very effective in reducing rates of smoking in pregnancy and public health teams work in partnership with the NHS and voluntary organisations at a local level to support parents at all stages of parenting to create the best possible environment for their children to grow up in.
She said “extra ring-fenced funding for these services” introduced last year was important “and [we] very much hope that the new government continue this”, as well as committing “to introducing the wide range of other measures in the [smokefree] bill so that future generations are never able to become addicted to this lethal product”.
Source: HSJ, 4 July 2024
See also: ASH - Rates of smoking in pregnancy see biggest single-year drop since data started being recorded
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Podcast: Prevention is the new cure
In this podcast, hosted by Steve Brine, former MP and chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, a GP and Chair of the National Academy of Social Prescribing discuss Labour's health policy and its impact on prevention, the NHS and social care. They also cover their thoughts on the new Ministerial appointments including the new Secretary of State, Wes Streeting MP.
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Comment: The UK Government's mandate for change must prioritise transformation of the public's health
Writing in the Lancet, Professor Kevin Fenton, President of the Faculty of Public Health, Greg Fell, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, William Roberts, CEO of the Royal Society for Public Health and Margaret Rae, President of the Epidemiology & Public Health Section discuss the new Labour government’s health initiatives which they state are urgently needed in light of stalling life expectancy, increasing health inequalities and an overwhelmed NHS. The authors write that immediate improvements could be made by following evidence based interventions, such as creating a smoke-free generation and adopting minimum unit pricing for alcohol. They also state that Labour need to go further by strengthening existing public health systems, supporting the public health workforce, and investing in research.
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Cancers caused by smoking reach all time high
New analysis from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has shown that the number of cancer cases caused by smoking in the UK has reached an all-time high of 160 cases every day. The number of cases has increased by 17% since 2003, meaning over 20 additional people a day are being diagnosed with cancer caused by smoking compared to 20 years ago.
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Webinar: The evidence to inform stop smoking service design: how to focus on priority groups
This webinar is brought to you by the London Tobacco Alliance (LTA) in partnership with the Behavioural Science Public Health Network (BSPHN), London Hub, as the first of a webinar series on using behavioural science to inform stop smoking services.
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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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