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** 14 August 2019
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** UK
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** Successful quitters celebrate first year of Greater Manchester Smokefree Pregnancy Programme (#1)
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** International
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** Finland in favour of raising tobacco age of sale (#4)
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** Study: Air pollution in cities compared to smoking as cause of emphysema (#2)
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** British American Tobacco's takeover of Twisp wins South African approval (#3)
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** UK
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Following the launch of an innovative Smokefree Pregnancy Programme twelve months ago, the number of pregnant smokers in the Greater Manchester city-region is falling faster than the national average.
Whilst across the country the rate of smoking at the time of delivery stayed largely similar between 2017/18 and 2018/19 (falling from 10.8% to 10.6%), over the same period the rate in Greater Manchester has fallen from 12.6% to 11.7%. The decline in smoking during pregnancy has contributed to overall smoking rates across the city region falling twice as fast as the national average, to a record low of 16.2% meaning there are 46,500 fewer smokers in Greater Manchester than in 2016.
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** Pregnant smokers engaged in the Smokefree Pregnancy Programme, which has been introduced across the city region, are tested for carbon monoxide levels early in their pregnancy, allowing maternity staff to identify smokers and explain the potential harm being done to their baby. Pregnant smokers are then provided with specialist support to help them quit, including free nicotine replacement therapy. The Smokefree Pregnancy Programme also has trained midwives and midwifery support workers to help pregnant smokers. Eligible pregnant smokers are offered shopping vouchers to further incentivise their quit attempt and help them prepare for the arrival of their new baby.
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Sarah Price, Director of Population Health for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We need to do everything we can to support expectant parents to stop smoking, for their health and for the health of their unborn child...Pregnancy can be a very stressful time, which can make it especially difficult to quit smoking. We know that, like all parents, parents who smoke want the best for their children but can struggle to kick their powerful addiction to tobacco...These figures show that, with the right support, expectant parents are quitting and children are getting the best possible start in life.”
Source: Rochdale Online, 13 August 2019
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** See also
NHS Digital: Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])
** International
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** Most Finns want to see an increase in the age limit for buying tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 20 years.
Some 51% of people questioned in a survey for ASH Finland – including 42% of smokers – said they would be happy to raise the age limit. Only 32% of people say they don’t agree with raising the age limit to buy tobacco; while 17% didn’t express an opinion.
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“I think people now realise the health impacts of smoking and tobacco use” says Mervi Hara, Executive Director of ASH Finland. The new ASH Finland survey finds support too for banning smoking completely near children’s playgrounds, at public places like the beach, and also at bus stops. The survey was carried out for ASH by Kantar TNS who questioned 2118 people in May and June 2019.
Source: News Now Finland, 13 August 2019
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Read Article ([link removed])
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A study has reported that long-term exposure to air pollution can exacerbate emphysema as much as a daily pack of cigarettes. Researchers looked at how exposure to four main pollutants affected lung health in 7,071 adults aged 45 to 84 living in six US cities. They measured levels of fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, black carbon and ozone outside participants’ homes and carried out CT scans to track the development of emphysema and lung decline.
Following up on the participants for an average of 10 years, they found that long-term exposure to all of the pollutants was linked to an increased percentage of emphysema seen on a CT scan. The strongest association was found with ground level ozone, which was also linked to a decline in lung function. In areas with increased levels of ozone, they found an increase in emphysema roughly the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 29 years. Ground-level ozone is produced when UV light reacts with pollutants from fossil fuels, and the process is accelerated by heatwaves.
Source: Independent, 14 August 2019
JAMA: Association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and change in quantitatively assessed emphysema and lung function ([link removed])
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** See also
The Times: Ozone pollution ‘as bad for lungs as a packet of cigarettes a day’ ([link removed])
Sky News: City air pollution as deadly as a packet of cigarettes a day for 29 years ([link removed])
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** Editoral note: This study only looks at the effect of air pollution on emphysema, not the many other diseases and cancers which are also known to be caused by smoking. Dr Sean Semple, Associate Professor at the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling, has also previously commented that: "Comparing air pollution with smoking cigarettes could be problematic because it assumes the toxicity of particulate matter (PM2.5) from all sources is equivalent, which is not the case. Particulate matter from cigarettes is likely to be significantly more toxic than from the range of sources which contribute to air pollution (diesel/petrol combustion, wind-blown soil etc.). Additionally, air pollution exposure is spread fairly consistently over 24 hours, unlike smoking which is punctuated by very intense inhaled concentrations over short periods. It is likely that a short exposure to high amounts of particulate matter may cause cellular changes/health effects where a much lower,
prolonged exposure does not."
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Read Article ([link removed])
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** British American Tobacco’s (BAT) proposed takeover of e-cigarette maker Twisp won approval from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Tuesday after the UK-based group agreed to a series of conditions. The local unit of BAT, BAT South Africa (BATSA), announced the deal in 2017 as part of BAT's wider attempt to increase its offering of alternatives to smoking cigarettes.
The deal had faced opposition, with the Competition Commission having said in July 2018 it recommended the prohibition of the deal and local rivals saying in May 2019 that they wanted to intervene in the proposed merger. The commission later changed its recommendation to a conditional approval.
Under conditions placed on the deal, the combined group would not be allowed to agree with retailers to allocate their products more than 70% of visible sales space given to e-cigarettes. They are also prevented from inventivsing retailers to deny space to rival products. The conditions will apply for five years. The Tribunal also said there should be no retrenchments or job cuts as a result of the proposed deal for a period of two years from the date on which the transaction is implemented.
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Source: Reuters, 13 August 2019
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Read Article ([link removed])
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[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
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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