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** 16 July 2025
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** UK
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** NHS ten-year plan criticised for lack of ambition on prevention (#1)
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** Freedom Association claims Labour will face backlash over generational smoking ban (#2)
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** International
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** Teen vaping in Australia shows decline amid tighter controls and shifting attitudes (#3)
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** Parliamentary
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** Written Questions (#4)
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** UK
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** NHS ten-year plan criticised for lack of ambition on prevention

Public health bodies have criticised the government’s new ten-year NHS plan for failing to deliver on promises to shift focus from treating illness to preventing it. While the plan includes welcome steps like promoting a smokefree generation, expanded cancer screening and support for children's mental health, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) said it only “restarted progress” and missed the chance to meet the prevention challenge set last year. The King’s Fund described it as “far too much like an NHS plan – not a health plan”, warning it won’t address the deeper social and economic drivers of poor health, such as poverty, housing and air pollution. Concerns were also raised over the lack of commitment to proven policies like minimum unit pricing for alcohol and the absence of significant new funding for local public health services, which have seen budgets cut by 25% in real terms over the past decade.

The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) expressed disappointment at delays to banning junk food advertising, arguing there is “a wealth of evidence” this would reduce avoidable disease. The plan’s limited ambition to only begin narrowing the life expectancy gap over ten years was described by the King’s Fund as “an unacceptably low ambition”. Public health leaders are urging the government to outline how it will increase investment in prevention and address the commercial and social factors that drive ill health, warning that without bolder, coordinated action across departments, the plan risks falling far short of its aims.

Source: The Lowdown, 14 July 2025
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** Freedom Association claims Labour will face backlash over generational smoking ban

The Freedom Association, a classically liberal campaign group, have warned that the generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill could cost Labour support in its traditional Red Wall areas. They argue that new polling by Whitestone Insight indicates that a significant share of working-class voters and past Labour supporters say that the policy would make them less likely to back the party.

However, the polling showed strong support among Liberal Democrats and the Green Party; with only 6% of Green voters and 9% of Liberal Democrat voters saying they would be less likely to back Labour due to the generational smoking ban.

Source: Express, 15 July 2025

Editorial note: The Freedom Association is a libertarian campaign group that promotes free-market values. It has a history of campaigning against tobacco control measures and close links with Forest.

Findings from a recent ASH YouGov ([link removed]) poll of over 11,000 adults showed that the majority of the public supports stronger restrictions on tobacco, including the government’s generational sales ban. Two-thirds of the public (68%) back the generational ban, including over half of smokers (52%). There is clear majority support among voters of all the main political parties: Labour (75% vs 10%); Conservative (69% vs 14%); Lib Dem (77% vs 9%); Reform (49% vs 29%).

See also: Tobacco Tactics – The Freedom Association ([link removed])
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** International
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** Teen vaping in Australia shows decline amid tighter controls and shifting attitudes

Recent figures suggest a fall in vaping among Australian teenagers, amid stricter regulations that limit sales to pharmacies and require prescriptions for under-18s. Research by the Cancer Council found usage rates among 14- to 17-year-olds dropped from 17.5% to 14.6% between early 2023 and April 2025. Broader declines were also seen in older age groups, while authorities seized millions of illegal vapes after a ban on imports. The study highlights changing social perceptions, with fewer young people showing interest in vaping and some reporting embarrassment over the habit. School suspensions linked to vaping have halved in South Australia since the reforms. Authorities stress that while progress has begun, sustained efforts are needed to achieve broader declines in smoking and vaping amongst young people.

Source: The Guardian, 15 July 2025
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** Parliamentary
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** Written Questions

Asked by Cat Eccles, Stourbridge, Labour

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of oral nicotine pouches on public health.

Answered by Ashley Dalton, Public Health and Prevention Minister, West Lancashire, Labour

Nicotine is the active ingredient in oral nicotine pouches, which is a highly addictive drug. Unlike vapes, nicotine pouches currently have no set nicotine limits, and nicotine strengths can be extremely high. The use of nicotine pouches is increasing, particularly among young men. Among adults in Great Britain, 5.4% tried nicotine pouches in 2024.

The Government is committed to protecting future generations from the harms of nicotine addiction. That is why, alongside vapes, we are taking action to control these products through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of all consumer nicotine products, ban their sale to anyone under 18 years old, and prohibit free distribution. The bill also provides powers to regulate the flavours, ingredients, which includes nicotine strength, packaging, and displays of vapes and nicotine products.

Source: Hansard, 11 July 2025

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** Asked by Josh Babarinde, Eastbourne, Liberal Democrat

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to addiction support in Eastbourne.

Answered by Ashley Dalton, Public Health and Prevention Minister, West Lancashire, Labour

The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidence-based, high-quality treatment.

As a condition of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are responsible for improving the take up of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan which has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners. In addition to funding through the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing East Sussex County Council with £3,095,946 from the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant and £168,422 from the Individual Placement and Support grant to help improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. In the 12 months to May 2025, there were 2,791 adults who had benefited from treatment in East Sussex, compared to 2,657 in the 12 months to May 2024.

This year, the Government is providing an additional £70 million for local authority-led Stop Smoking Services in England, building on existing funding made available via the Public Health Grant. Additional funding for Stop Smoking Services is based on the number of smokers in each local authority, and East Sussex County Council has been allocated an extra £710,734 for 2025/26.

All funding is provided at the East Sussex level, and it is for East Sussex County Council to determine how to meet needs in Eastbourne.

In April 2025, a new statutory levy on gambling operators, expected to raise approximately £100 million per year, was introduced to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harms. The levy will be distributed across the three workstreams, with 50% allocated to NHS England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, to commission the development of effective treatment and support services at national and sub-national levels.

Source: Hansard, 11 July 2025
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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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