View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** 9 August 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Developers of vapes for migraine, asthma will need to win over sceptics (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Opinion: Why the war on childhood obesity is failing (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Links of the week
------------------------------------------------------------
** Smoking and Vaping Special interest group: Launch event (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Podcast: Prevention is the new cure (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Developers of vapes for migraine, asthma will need to win over sceptics
Two companies, Qnovia and MIIST Therapeutics, have developed vape-like devices based on technology used in existing medical nebulisers, which turns liquid medications into a fine mist.
Another company, Greentank, says it has developed a way to vaporise substances via a heating chip that addresses safety concerns with current vapes and may offer a better way to treat ailments like migraines.
The companies and experts say inhalation can relieve pain in seconds, with fewer side effects than pills, but their ambitions to sell devices resembling vapes in the medical sphere, amid growing concerns about their health impacts, will be a tough task.
For now, Qnovia and MIIST will launch their products initially as prescription-only nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) treatments, while Greentank is initially targeting the use of its heating chip in recreational cannabis and nicotine vapes.
Federico Buonocore, a professor focused on alternative pulmonary drug delivery at Kingston University in Britain, said existing inhaled drug delivery devices are clunky and difficult to operate, and so tend to be used wrongly.
A vape-like design could solve such challenges, he said.
Big Tobacco firms have already tried and failed to tap into this market, their efforts fraught by mistrust and opposition from health officials.
Philip Morris International, last year scrapped a goal to earn over $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025 from its wellness and healthcare unit, which includes a business making asthma inhalers.
CEO Jacek Olczak said the company had been "too optimistic about how the external environment will accept... Big Tobacco" in industries outside of nicotine.
Virginia-based Qnovia and California-based MIIST are pharmaceutical firms and not associated with Big Tobacco, although some of their top executives came from that industry.
Qnovia CEO Brian Quigley, a former boss of tobacco giant Altria, told Reuters the company plans to submit drug applications in the U.S. soon and the United Kingdom in 2026 for its device as an NRT, and launch a clinical trial in September.
MIIST also needs to secure regulatory approvals. Its Phase 1 clinical trial found its device could ease cravings faster than other approved NRTs like patches and gums.
Kingston University's Buonocore researched the use of e-cigarettes as drug delivery devices.
"The first thing everyone told me was: 'It is wrong to use this device as a medical device'," he said, adding that concerns included that it would be inappropriate to prescribe them to children.
"Coming out of that stigma is going to be very difficult for the sector."
Source: Reuters, 9 August 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed] )
** Opinion: Why the war on childhood obesity is failing
The Economist addresses the global obesity crisis, highlighting its severe public health implications and the complexity of finding effective solutions. The Economist discusses how obesity rates have surged globally, leading to significant health risks and economic costs, especially among children. Despite various interventions, no country has successfully reduced obesity rates, with efforts merely slowing the increase.
The Economist examines multiple factors contributing to rising obesity, such as the availability of high calorie processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and the body's biological resistance to weight loss. The Economist critiques the limitations of current measures, including body mass index (BMI) as an indicator and the mixed results from initiatives in Amsterdam, black warning labels in Chile, and the sugary drinks levy in Britain.
The Economist emphasizes how government strategies like sugar taxes have shown mixed success around the world, having the most impact in poor countries where consumers are more price sensitive. Some experts advocate broader taxes on unhealthy foods in general to stop people shifting to other unhealthy foods or subsidies for fruits and vegetables. Some working in public health advocate for having warning labels with pictures on junk food, like those found on cigarette packets. The Economist recognises the potential of obesity drugs like Wegovy, whilst acknowledging that their high costs and side effects limit their widespread use.
The Economist concludes by discussing Japan's measured, cultural approach to health, emphasizing that no single solution will suffice. Japanese people are subject to stricter social norms around food and more specific forms of government intervention. This culture sees Japanese people eat modest portions and more traditional food, which tends to be fresher.
A multifaceted strategy involving taxes, regulation, and education is argued by the Economist to be necessary to combat childhood obesity effectively, with the long-term goal of making healthy choices more accessible.
Source: The Economist, 8 August 2024
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])
** Links of the week
------------------------------------------------------------
** Smoking and Vaping Special interest group: Launch event
The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is launching a new Smoking and Vaping Special Interest Group (SIG) ([link removed]) to increase advocacy, knowledge-sharing and provide a credible and expert voice around this key public health issue. This group is only available to FPH members, who can join the SIG by logging into the FPH Members Portal ([link removed]) and selecting the "Committees/SIGs" button.
There will be an online SIG launch event on 9th September (3:30 - 4:30pm) to consider key opportunities around smoking and vaping, and where the new SIG can make the biggest impact in this exciting space. Speakers include FPH president Professor Kevin Fenton and ADPH vice-president Alice Wiseman.
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])
** Podcast: Prevention is the new cure
This podcast is hosted by Steve Brine, former MP and Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, one of the country's foremost medical academics and a general practitioner. From 20:22 they are joined by Cancer Research UK's Ian Walker for a segment on smoking and vaping as well as the charity's hopes for legislation in the UK.
------------------------------------------------------------
Listen 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])
