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Cigarette maker sells British inhaler business after backlash
Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris has been forced to sell a British maker of asthma inhalers at a steep loss after a growing backlash from health groups opposed to its ownership.
Philip Morris International (PMI) bought Vectura Group three years ago as part of a plan to transform itself into a “broader healthcare and wellness” group but now says the shift has been derailed by “unwarranted opposition”.
Vectura makes treatments for respiratory illnesses caused by smoking, among other products. PMI’s ownership has prompted criticism from campaigners outraged that a cigarette maker could benefit from the treatment of smoking-related diseases.
The company had faced medical boycotts, including being barred from a major medical conference shortly after the takeover after other speakers threatened to withdraw unless Vectura pulled out.
Nicholas Hopkinson, chairman of Action on Smoking and Health, the charity, and professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said that Philip Morris’s “attempt to reinvent itself as a company promoting health has been a repulsive spectacle”.
PMI will suffer a steep loss on the deal after paying £1.1bn for Vectura.
The US company will sell the division to Molex, part of an US oil and chemicals conglomerate run by the billionaire Charles Koch, for an initial £150m plus potential payments of £148m.
In July, the charity Asthma + Lung UK urged patients to tell doctors they did not want inhalers made by a tobacco company.
Sarah MacFadyen, the charity’s head of policy, said: “Addictive tobacco products cause and exacerbate lung disease, so Philip Morris’s takeover of Vectura has been widely condemned. If people feel uncomfortable using an inhaler brand linked to the tobacco industry, they should speak to their healthcare professional about trying an alternative device. For most people, there are a range of alternatives that are just as effective and safe.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, on Tuesday said: “Philip Morris seems to believe that owning a pharmaceutical company combined with incessant repetition of its smoke-free mantra entitles it to a free pass but it doesn’t.”
Philip Morris International shares dropped 2.8pc this afternoon.
Source: The Telegraph, 17 September 2024
Editorial note: Professor Nicholas Hopkinson , Chair, Action on Smoking and Health and Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College London said:
“Good riddance. Philip Morris products kill at last a million people every year, and its attempt to reinvent itself as a company promoting health has been a repulsive spectacle. Rather than allowed them to launder their obscene revenue into the pharmaceutical sector, government needs to introduce a polluter pays levy on tobacco transnationals, capping their profits to ensure that the tobacco industry is obliged to pay for the huge harm to human health and wellbeing it has caused.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity Action on Smoking and Health said, “Philip Morris seems to believe that owning a pharmaceutical company combined with incessant repetition of its smoke-free mantra entitles it to a free pass but it doesn’t. The lethal smoked tobacco products make PMI extremely profitable are still on sale, and it’s time for government to cap the profits of tobacco transnationals like PMI, and make them pay for the damage they do to the health and wellbeing of the nation.”
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The last place you can smoke indoors in the UK
The article discusses London’s ‘cigar mile’, an area in central London with a large concentration of cigar shops.
The 2007 indoor smoking ban instantly halted smoking in any public premises in the country, and now Sir Keir Starmer’s government appears to have its sights set on outlawing smoking outdoors too, including in pub gardens, parks and sports stadiums.
But a special exemption remains in place that allows cigar shop customers to smoke onsite.
Aficionados say there’s nowhere better than the ‘cigar mile’ itself though, stretching along St. James Street, just half a mile from Buckingham Palace. While the area may be the spiritual home of cigars, other parts of the capital appear to be making inroads in the industry too.
Over in Knightsbridge, where the genteel customers of St. James’ are replaced by more international consumers, cigar lounges are experiencing something of a resurgence. A number have opened in the area in recent years, some of which have attached themselves to opulent hotels.
“Whereas cigar lounges in the past used to be separate from our trade, these days, our guests expect them as standard,” says a manager at the Bvlgari. “For any 5-star hotel not to have a cigar lounge these days, would be like not having a restaurant, or a bar.”
Both Selfridges and Harrods now sell cigars, with Harrods going one step further by allowing its customers to smoke them onsite. Deep in its basement, where phone reception is thin, an array of smokers can be found blazing away in private.
On a regular weekday lunchtime, the lounge is already filling up with a steady procession of customers ferrying their drinks from the nearby bar before unwrapping their cigar of choice – and lighting up, of course.
But as their popularity grows, do the businesses worry increasing awareness will attract unwanted attention from lawmakers? Could the loophole that allows them to operate come under the spotlight of Parliament?
Harrods’ discreet in-house cigar sommelier, a well-dressed Cuban gentleman, does not appear overly concerned. “I think in total the number of cigar smokers must be less than one per cent [of the population],” he says. “We’re not even anywhere close to the number of people who vape, which must already be pretty low. I think we’re probably off the radar for anyone who might want to crack down.”
Smoking outdoors might yet be banned. But the cigar lounges, it seems, are here to stay. You can bet Churchill’s chair won’t be empty for long.
Source: The Telegraph, 17 September 2024
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Darzi: My report on the NHS diagnosed its dire condition. Now here’s the cure
Writing in the Guardian, Professor Lord Darzi of Denham, a former health minister and chair of surgery at Imperial College London, reflects on his investigation into the state of the NHS, commissioned by Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Darzi writes that although he anticipated that the NHS was struggling, his findings left him “shocked and angry”. The investigation revealed that the NHS is failing to deliver effective access and high-quality care, with many patients enduring long waits in A&E or struggling to see a GP. Darzi observes that patient care is stagnating or worsening, and public trust in the NHS is at an all-time low.
Despite these challenges, Darzi believes the NHS can recover, as the core principles of a taxpayer-funded and free service remain strong. He highlights the world-class clinical talent and innovative medical advancements within the NHS, as well as the dedication of its staff.
Darzi emphasizes that recovery must now focus on prevention and health beyond the NHS's hospitals. He suggests that improving healthy life expectancy should become a key government priority, advocating for a target of increasing healthy life expectancy by 10 years by 2055. He also calls for a "health polluter pays" levy on businesses that negatively impact public health, such as those profiting from alcohol, tobacco, and unhealthy products. “Let me be clear: if a business profits at the expense of our health, it should pay the societal cost” he writes. The revenue from such levies should be reinvested in initiatives to promote health, especially for children, such as Sure Start programs and free school meals.
Darzi concludes by asserting that health is not only a human right but also essential for economic prosperity. The high number of people out of work due to illness underscores the need for a government-led focus on health to drive both well-being and economic growth.
Source: The Guardian, 18 September 2024
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UK’s biggest supermarket could urge shoppers to replace unhealthy purchases
Tesco could use Clubcard data to warn shoppers when they are buying too many unhealthy items, its chief executive has said.
The boss of Britain’s biggest supermarket said he expected to use artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor how customers were shopping to help “nudge” people into making healthier choices.
Tesco’s Ken Murphy said: “I can see it nudging you, saying: ‘look, I’ve noticed over time that in your shopping basket your sodium salt content is 250pc of your daily recommended allowance. I would recommend you substitute this, this and this for lower sodium products to improve your heart health’.”
However, the suggestion that Tesco would seek to influence people’s personal choices has sparked concerns among privacy campaigners.
Tesco stressed it was not currently looking at rolling out a nudge policy. However, the potential for the company to intervene – either through messages at the tills or emails after checkout – is significant.
Tesco is by far Britain’s largest supermarket, holding almost a third of the UK grocery market. More than 20m people are currently signed up for the supermarket’s Clubcard scheme, which launched in 1995 and gives customers access to better deals.
The comments come amid growing scrutiny over the extent of data collected by supermarkets through their loyalty schemes and how they use it.
As well as using loyalty card data to tailor offers, supermarkets are increasingly selling the information to third parties. Estimates have suggested that Tesco and Sainsbury’s alone make £300m a year from selling this in-house data on their customers.
So-called “insights” on shoppers are anonymised, but are used to build archetypal customers that can give other businesses an idea of what a typical person might be interested in.
Tesco has said it does not “sell or share any individual customer data and we take our responsibilities regarding the use of customer data extremely seriously”.
Source: The Telegraph, 17 September 2024
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Pint of no return? Two-thirds measure could boost English health – study
Abandoning the British pint for a smaller measure could boost the nation’s health, researchers say.
Scientists reached the conclusion after a trial in a dozen pubs, bars and restaurants in England during which pints were scrapped and two-thirds of a pint became the largest draught beer available.
The experiment, which met a measure of resistance, resulted in the amount of beer sold falling nearly 10%. Though modest, the drop could lessen the impact of alcohol-related harm, which claims thousands of lives in Britain each year, the team believes.
“This is the first real-world study to look at this,” said Prof Dame Theresa Marteau, study leader and director of the behaviour and health research unit at the University of Cambridge. “Does this have the potential to contribute to population health? I’d say definitely, yes.”
Alcohol raises the risk of more than 60 health conditions from liver cirrhosis to cancer, and with related accidents, causes millions of deaths worldwide. More than a fifth of adults in England drink more than 14 units a week, putting them at higher risk of harm.
The Cambridge trial tested the idea that people often think more in portions than portion sizes, going for one beer, one cup of tea, one piece of cake, rather than specific numbers of millilitres or grams. In a similar trial in January, wine sales fell when the largest glass size, typically 250ml, was scrapped.
To see if the trick worked for beer, the researchers invited more than 1,700 pubs, bars and restaurants to join the trial. The response was overwhelmingly unenthusiastic: despite compensation for lost takings, only 13 agreed.
None of the establishments permanently scrapped the pint. Beyond the loss in takings, there is an inertia to overcome. The British pint, introduced in 1698, is a cultural foundation. But at 568ml, it is among the largest common beer serving in the world. Germans favour 500ml, a US pint is 473ml, the Australian schooner, 425ml.
Marteau said there was no magic bullet for reducing alcohol-related disease. “When we think about tackling alcohol, we often think about affordability and advertising. We’re highlighting an additional intervention that can be considered for alcohol control policies,” she said.
Source: The Guardian, 17 September 2024
See also: Impact on beer sales of removing the pint serving size: An A-B-A reversal trial in pubs, bars, and restaurants in England
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BAT Announces Management Board Changes
BAT has announced management board changes. Kingsley Wheaton will be appointed as chief corporate officer, a newly created role. Wheaton’s current role of chief strategy and growth officer will cease to exist.
As chief corporate officer, Wheaton will have overall responsibility for the strategy and execution of the group’s sustainable future pillar, including their tobacco harm reduction agenda and “Enhancing BAT’s leadership in sustainability and integrity.”
Luciano Comin, marketing director for combustibles and new categories, will be appointed chief marketing officer, reporting directly to Tadeu Marroco, CEO.
James Barrett, director of business development, will report to Soraya Benchikh, chief financial officer.
Source: Tobacco Reporter, 17 September 2024
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Editorial note: EU will recommend Member States ban smoking and vaping in outdoor areas, leaked draft says
Yesterday daily news included an article titled: ‘EU wants to ban smoking and vaping in outdoor areas, leaked draft says’. However, this headline could be misleading as the EU doesn’t have the powers to ban smoking or vaping – it can only make recommendations, for member states to implement or not as they see fit. The previous EU recommendation to ban smoking in enclosed public places has still not been fully implemented fully in many EU member states (see links below) so it’s very unlikely that if the EU were to recommend banning smoking and vaping in outdoor places that many member states will implement this policy.
https://health.ec.europa.eu/tobacco/smoke-free-environments_en
https://health.ec.europa.eu/document/download/2c9db9ad-ef16-48b6-a7b4-0c66821c9d5c_en?filename=smoke-free_legislation_table_en.pdf
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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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