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** 5 August 2024
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** UK
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** Exclude drinks industry from alcohol policy planning, UK campaigners urge (#1)
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** Pharmacies in England cutting services amid financial pressures, research finds (#2)
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** Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £200k found in raids (#3)
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** Opinion: It’s time to show gambling advertising in football the red card (#4)
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** International
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** Japan Tobacco raises cigarette unit's FY forecast as sales rise (#5)
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** UK
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** Exclude drinks industry from alcohol policy planning, UK campaigners urge
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**
Ministers are being urged to exclude the alcohol industry from helping to draw up plans to reduce drink-related harm because of its past “interference” with such initiatives.

The plea, from public health campaigners, comes soon after deaths directly due to alcohol hit a new record high of more than 10,000 fatalities a year in the UK.

Dr Katherine Severi, the IAS’s (Institute of Alcohol Studies) chief executive, said: “Just like tobacco companies, alcohol companies have a long history of disrupting and delaying health policy, which is why the World Health Organization advises governments to protect against undue influence from the alcohol industry.

“Alcohol companies, trade bodies and industry-funded front groups should be treated in a similar way to the tobacco industry, with all interactions a matter of public record and discussions limited to implementation of policies that have been developed in the public interest.”

Severi pointed to how the Scottish government was unable to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol for five years after legal challenges by the alcohol industry.

The IAS and public health experts have drawn up new guidance to advise the government how to deal with the drinks industry. It recommends that ministers “minimise interactions with industry”, do not form partnerships with it and ensure good governance processes exist “to minimise the risk of alcohol industry interference or obstruction of health policy objectives”.

If followed, the guidance would mean that government departments would not collaborate with the alcohol industry on health promotion campaigns, such as Drinkaware’s “drink-free days” initiative in conjunction with Public Health England, and would forbid educational materials it has produced to be used in schools.

It would also see the Commons health and social care select committee no longer taking evidence from groups such as Drinkaware, the Portman Group and the British Beer and Pub Association. Senior figures from these organisations attended an oral hearing with the cross-party group of MPs in February during its inquiry into preventing ill-health.

The bill for alcohol harm in England alone comes to an estimated £27.4bn a year as a result of NHS treatment, lost productivity and other costs, the IAS says.

Labour in opposition warned the drinks industry that it had to “do better” at preventing its products harming consumers. Last year, Andrew Gwynne – the public health minister in the new government – voiced concern at its self-regulation of marketing practices, another of the key issues highlighted by the IAS.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, the chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance and ex-president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “Over 10,000 people a year in the UK die due to alcohol-related causes. Yet the industry that profits from these products is given a say in how they are regulated, priced, marketed, and made available. The fox should not be in charge of the henhouse.”

Source: The Guardian, 4 August 2024
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** Pharmacies in England cutting services amid financial pressures, research finds

Pharmacies across England are unable to provide critical NHS and public health services owing to the overwhelming financial and operational pressures they are facing, according to research.

A poll of pharmacy owners representing more than 2,100 pharmacies found that more than 96% of respondents said they had stopped providing locally commissioned services over the past 12 months.

These include emergency contraception and products to help quit smoking.

Four in five (81%) of pharmacy owners polled said they have had to stop offering extended opening hours, while 90% have had to stop employing locum pharmacists owing to the high costs.

The research comes as data shows that almost 1,000 pharmacies in England have closed since 2017, with poorer areas being affected disproportionately by the closures.

The Pharmacy First scheme was fully launched on 1 January this year, with patients in England now offered treatment for seven common conditions including urinary tract infections and shingles by a chemist without having to see a GP.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: “Across England patients and local communities are paying the price of our collapsing community pharmacy network, as thousands of pharmacies have been left with no choice but to reduce the services that they can offer. These are not decisions that any pharmacy wants to make, but with a 30% real-terms funding reduction and spiralling costs, pharmacy owners are having to make impossible decisions to try to keep their doors open.”

Nick Kaye, the chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said: “The nation’s community pharmacies are under enormous pressure and are totally underfunded for their vital work on the health service frontline.

“This has inevitably resulted in cutbacks such as reduced opening hours and ending free medicines deliveries to housebound patients.”

Source: The Guardian, 5 August 2024
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** Illegal vapes and tobacco worth £200k found in raids

Twelve off licenses in the town centre, Wallisdown, Winton and Boscombe were visited during searches in March, May and July.

BCP Council, which has been leading the operation, said Trading Standards officers and sniffer dogs had discovered concealed store rooms and disguised cabinets.

It said further searches were planned across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the coming months.

Trading Standards officers, working with Dorset Police and HM Revenue and Customs, seized just under 32kg of illegal rolling tobacco, 145,740 cigarettes, more than 7,600 unregulated vapes and more than 10kg of illicit shisha with a combined street value of £208,000.

In the most recent raids in Boscombe, more than 6kg tobacco, 19,160 cigarettes and 1,170 vapes were seized at three off licences with the help of a sniffer dog.

Source: BBC News, 1 August 2024
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** Opinion: It’s time to show gambling advertising in football the red card

Writing for the Sunday Times, the Rt. Hon. Henry McLeish, former First Minister of Scotland and once professional footballer, discusses the prevalence of gambling advertising in football and calls for a ban on such promotions. Campaigners argue that the sport should not serve as a platform for promoting gambling, which has potentially harmful consequences.

McLeish concerns about the exposure of young fans to these advertisements, as studies indicate that they are especially susceptible to developing gambling addictions. McLeish cites a survey revealing that 71% of 11-16-year-olds had seen gambling advertisements on TV, and 66% had seen them on social media.

The author emphasises how current regulatory measures like the "whistle-to-whistle" ban, which restricts gambling ads during live sports broadcasts before 9 pm, are believed by many to insufficiently protect vulnerable audiences. McLeish goes on to highlight how financial ties between football clubs and gambling companies further complicate the issue, as these partnerships provide essential revenue for the clubs.

McLeish draws attention to the “public health challenge” Scotland faces concerning drugs, alcohol, gambling and mental wellbeing. He writes that whilst football is not responsible for the underlying health of Scotland, they should not be promoting products that make matters worse.

McLeish concludes that public opinion is increasingly in favour of banning gambling advertisements in sports, with many acknowledging the severe impact of gambling addiction on individuals and communities.

Source: The Sunday Times, 4 August 2024
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** International
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** Japan Tobacco raises cigarette unit's FY forecast as sales rise

Japan Tobacco on Friday reported a 7.1% rise in first-half core revenue at is tobacco unit thanks to higher prices and market share gains, prompting the cigarette maker to raise its full-year guidance.

The maker of Benson & Hedges and Winston cigarettes said it now expects revenue at the unit to rise 5.1% in constant currency terms over the full year, with adjusted operating profit also up 5.4%.

Japan Tobacco's performance shows that cigarette makers can still make big profits by hiking prices and growing sales around the world, even as ever-stricter regulation and growing awareness of health risks drive falling smoking rates in some markets.

These trends, however, have prompted the company and its peers to develop alternative products, such as vapes, to protect revenue as their traditional businesses come under pressure.

Japan Tobacco's cigarette division saw core revenue rise 7.1% at constant currency terms in the six months to end-June.

Adjusted operating profit rose 5.3%.

Total volumes rose 2%, with a 1.7% rise in tobacco sales and a 25.5% rise in sales of smoking alternatives.

Volume growth was driven by market share gains by key brands such as Camel and higher uptake of heated tobacco device Ploom in Japan.

Source: The Daily Mail, 5 August 2024
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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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