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


** 23 September 2024
------------------------------------------------------------


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


** Wes Streeting wants ‘national conversation’ before outdoor smoking ban (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Risk of lung cancer from radiotherapy doubles for breast cancer patients who smoke (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Rachel Reeves considers raising alcohol duty in Budget (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


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


** Children vaping and alcohol warning labels: takeaways from the World Cancer Congress (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Economist Group cancer conference cancelled due to links to tobacco firms (#5)
------------------------------------------------------------


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


** Wes Streeting wants ‘national conversation’ before outdoor smoking ban

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is said to be reluctant to force through a ban being pushed by public health officials, saying he wanted a “genuine national conversation” before making a decision.

While a ban on smoking outside hospitals, schools and in playgrounds is seen as almost certain, ministers are worried there will be a backlash from the hospitality industry and some voters if the ban extends to café, pub and restaurant gardens.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, has been leading the push for an outdoor smoking ban, which in its toughest version would include parks and beaches. These are considered unlikely. The inclusion of pub gardens is at the centre of what is said to be a “live debate” in government.

Streeting is keen to show he is going further on smoking than the Tories and a compulsory licensing scheme for tobacco retailers that would remove their right to sell cigarettes if they are caught selling to children is being considered.

Streeting is planning to take powers in the bill to ban smoking in outdoor locations but is expected to promise detailed consultation before deciding where such a ban applies.

A poll by YouGov in September found that 51 per cent of people backed a ban on smoking in pub gardens, with 43 per cent opposed.

A ban on smoking outside hospitals had much stronger support, backed by 76 per cent and opposed by 21 per cent.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking charity ASH, said Streeting was right to look for public support before action. “Legislation can work to encourage healthier behaviours but only if is popular, not through heavy-handed enforcement,” she said.

She said ministers must not exclude a ban on smoking in pub gardens from the consultation, suggesting that public support would grow as the issue was debated, as happened for a ban on smoking in indoor public places in 2007.

“During the consultation process support grew from half to two thirds for banning smoking inside pubs, and when the law came into force in 2007 there was 98 per cent compliance,” she said.

Source: The Times, 20 September 2024

See also: YouGov - Would Britons support an outdoor smoking ban? ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed] )


** Risk of lung cancer from radiotherapy doubles for breast cancer patients who smoke

Radiotherapy cuts the risk of someone’s breast cancer recurring after treatment and also of them dying from the disease, but its dangers include a higher risk of dying from heart disease, lung cancer or oesophageal cancer.

Breast cancer is the UK’s most common cancer, with 56,400 new cases diagnosed every year, almost all of them in women. It kills 11,500 people a year – 32 every day.

The new findings show breast cancer patients who do not smoke have less than a 1% chance of radiotherapy leading directly to them developing lung cancer in the years afterwards. But for those who do smoke when they are treated and do not quit afterwards, their risk is between 2% and 6%.

The results are from research in the UK led by Carolyn Taylor, a professor of oncology at the University of Oxford, which was funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Clinical Oncology.

The conclusions of the study, which analysed 14 previous studies of doses of radiation given to thousands of women with breast cancer in the UK, should be seen as “reassuring” for most women who have radiotherapy, Taylor said. That is because most women with breast cancer who may have the treatment are non-smokers, because only 14% of women in the UK smoke. “For them their risk of lung cancer from the radiation is below 1%. So, for them, our study is good news”.

However, for long-term smokers who do not kick the habit, “their risks are higher. UK breast cancer radiotherapy would increase their risk of lung cancer by between 2% and 6%.”

Deborah Arnott, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said smokers undergoing radiotherapy “must be warned of the risks of continuing to smoke and given the support and encouragement they need to quit.

“Continuing to smoke, and this is true for any cancer treated with radiotherapy, not just breast cancer, makes the treatment itself more unpleasant and less effective, with an increased risk of a subsequent recurrence of cancer.”

Cancer Research UK recently recognised smoking as a cause of breast cancer for the first time, alongside known risks such as diet and genetics. Labour promised in its general election manifesto to make smoking cessation services available to all hospital patients to encourage more people to quit.

Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2024

See also: Clinical Oncology - Estimated Doses to the Heart, Lungs and Oesophagus and Risks From Typical UK Radiotherapy for Early Breast Cancer During 2015–2023 ([link removed](24)00177-8/fulltext)
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed] )


** Rachel Reeves considers raising alcohol duty in Budget

The Chancellor has not ruled out putting up tax on beer, wine and spirits as part of efforts to plug what Labour claims is a £22 billion hole in the public finances.

It comes amid rumours the Government is considering more “sin taxes” on unhealthy products, including fast food, sugary treats, tobacco and vapes.

Figures released on Friday showed consumer confidence has slumped to levels seen at the start of the year, amid warnings her gloomy rhetoric is harming growth.

The Chancellor has repeatedly warned that she will have to make “difficult decisions” on tax when she delivers her first budget on Oct 30.

She has been presented with forecasts that show that, on paper, putting up alcohol duty would raise an extra £800 million next year.

This week, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) urged the Chancellor to raise taxes on unhealthy food, gambling, alcohol and tobacco.

The think tank said that doing so could boost the economy by curbing the number of Britons being signed off work with long-term sickness.

Source: The Telegraph, 20 September 2024

See also: Alcohol Health Alliance – Alcohol Duty ([link removed]) | IPPR - Our greatest asset: The final report of the IPPR Commission on Health and Prosperity ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])


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


** Children vaping and alcohol warning labels: takeaways from the World Cancer Congress

The World Cancer Congress 2024, the biannual conference of the Union for International Cancer Control, discussed new evidence and strategies on how to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. Here are the key takeaways.

Preventing children from smoking or vaping will need tougher social media measures.

The UK government wants to create a smoke-free society. Under its forthcoming tobacco and vapes bill, the sale of tobacco to people born on or after January 2009 would become illegal. There would also be stronger regulation of vapes.

In the EU, advertising for tobacco products and e-cigarettes is banned on TV, radio, print, online and social media. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Centre analysed social media posts in German on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest that mentioned vapes and heated tobacco products over an eight-month period in 2023. Headline findings presented at the conference revealed that despite the online advertising ban, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products were systematically marketed at young people on social media.

One-third of social media posts advertising heated tobacco products were specifically targeted at young people, with vapes and heated tobacco products often portrayed as stylish and trendy accessories, with lots of bright colours and flavours to choose from.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated that 1.41 million children worldwide lost their fathers to cancer. Nearly three-quarters of deaths were among those aged over 45 and most deaths were owing to gastrointestinal, liver, lung and trachea cancers, which are strongly associated with commercial determinants of health such as alcohol and smoking.

Children who have lost either or both their parents often face health, economic and social disadvantages throughout their life. Figures presented by the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the congress calculated the scale of those losses for the first time.

A separate study by US academics on different types of alcohol warning labels demonstrated the difficulties of communicating the links between drinking and cancer. Although a message of “no safe level” of alcohol consumption and cancer increased awareness of the risks of drinking the most, it was also the least believed message, when compared with “the less you drink, the lower the risk” or “the more you drink, the higher the risk”.

Source: The Guardian, 20 September 2024

See also: Tobacco Prevention and Cessation - Media monitoring: advertising for tobacco and related products in social media ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Here ([link removed])


** Economist Group cancer conference cancelled due to links to tobacco firms

Economist Impact, part of the Economist Group, which owns the weekly business magazine, was due to hold its 10th annual world cancer series in Brussels at the end of the month.

The Guardian understands the event was cancelled because of a backlash against ties that Economist Impact has with Philip Morris International, the world’s biggest tobacco company and owner of the most popular brand Marlboro, and Japan Tobacco International, which owns brands including Camel, Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges.

Last week, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the oldest and largest global membership organisation dedicated to taking action on cancer, said it was pulling out of the Economist Impact event “due to its ties to the tobacco industry”.

“This decision stems from the fact that UICC has learned that Economist Impact works with Philip Morris International (PMI) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI),” the union said. “UICC has a longstanding policy of not engaging with the tobacco industry, in alignment with the World Health Organization framework convention on tobacco control. This policy reflects our commitment to public health and our dedication to reducing the global burden of cancer.”

The union, which had been a “supporting organisation” of the Economist Impact event, has more than 1,100 member organisations in over 170 countries and territories.

The Economist Impact website includes branded content, such as a piece titled A Fine Balance. Deliver Change, which is “supported by Philip Morris International” and includes the company’s logo.

Source: The Guardian, 21 September 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])