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Nest, the workplace pension scheme set up by the government, is on track to have completely divested from the tobacco industry within the next two months, around a year ahead of schedule.
The scheme recently acknowledged that whilst some UK pension funds thought that it would be 'too difficult' to divest from tobacco because of fiduciary duty constraints, the work of Nest has shown that it is possible, emphasising that there has since been interest from other UK pension schemes.
In June 2019, Nest pledged to completely divest from tobacco by 2022, having raised concerns around child labour and environmental issues, as well as falling global smoking rates and stricter regulation. The scheme, which had around £40m in exposure to tobacco firms at the time, predicted that if it failed to make a change immediately it would have around £120m invested in tobacco by 2022.
Source: Pensions Age, 1 July 2020
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The regulation of gambling has gone “horribly wrong” and should be radically overhauled without delay, a House of Lords committee has urged. Ministers have pledged to review the 2005 Gambling Act in the face of a growing consensus among MPs and addiction experts that legislation passed under Tony Blair’s Government is no longer effective. But in a wide-ranging report, a select committee led by former ITV and BBC chairman Lord Grade said sweeping changes could go forward without the need for a review.
The lords also joined calls for a mandatory levy on gambling industry profits to fund addiction research, education and treatment, amid mounting concern about industry influence on how its current voluntary donations are spent.
The committee on the social and economic impact of the gambling industry demanded an end to the UK’s “lax regulation”, pointing to statistics suggesting a third of a million people, 55,000 of them children, are problem gamblers, with up to 2 million people affected by their addiction. Research has shown that around 60% of the industry’s income is derived from people with a severe or moderate gambling disorder.
Source: The Guardian, 2 July 2020
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Dr Gregor Smith, the interim Scottish Chief Medical Officer, has put out a memo to retailers across Scotland asking them to warn people not smoke or vape while waiting to enter shops.
The memo stated: "While we stress that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the Covid-19 virus can be spread though smoke and vape drift, this has been raised as a public concern over and above the fact that many find the passive inhaling of tobacco or vape drift unpleasant.
Dr Smith added in the 'for action' memo to all retailers sent to Scottish trade groups that "The dangers of second hand tobacco smoke are well understood and there is a known health risk to people in queues who are standing close to any clusters of people who are smoking. There is no scientifically proven risk to health from inhaling second hand vape."
Source: The Herald, 02 July 2020
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The Jordanian government has banned smoking and vaping in all indoor public spaces a week after rates of tobacco use in the country were revealed to have become the highest in the world.
The country’s health ministry said yesterday, 1st July, that all enclosed public areas would now be “100% smoke-free environments”, building on an existing but widely flouted ban on smoking inside government buildings and ending an exemption for hotels, cafes and restaurants. Smoking will still be permitted in outdoor areas of hotels, cafes and restaurants under the new regulations.
Public health campaigners cautiously welcomed the announcement as a major step forward in a country where 66% of men smoke, according to government and World Health Organization data published last week.
“Today’s announcement is a huge change,” said Larissa Al-Uar, from the activist group Tobacco Free Jordan. “We’re happy, but we need to see strong implementation of the law. Without that, it will be a disaster.” She said previous efforts to curb the country’s record-high smoking rates had suffered from weak enforcement as well as what health advocates claimed was widespread interference in policymaking by multinational tobacco companies. An investigation by The Guardian found that tobacco company lobbyists had been regularly invited to sit in on meetings to debate regulations on their products, in what campaigners claimed was inappropriate interference in policymaking.
In its announcement yesterday, the Jordanian government cited studies showing that smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to get severe symptoms if they caught coronavirus, a link that Al-Uar hoped would prompt a re-evaluation of smoking among legislators and the public. “We hope that connecting smoking and Covid-19 will have a positive effect,” she said.
Source: The Guardian, 1 July 2020
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PQ1: Tobacco sales
Asked by Sir Desmond Swayne MP, New Forest West
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will enable the sale of menthol cigarettes after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Jo Churchill MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 introduced a ban on flavoured cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. As the ban is part of United Kingdom legislation, it will remain in place when the UK exits the transition period with the European Union. Removing menthol cigarettes is an important milestone to help people quit smoking and improve their health and support the Government’s drive towards a smoke-free society by 2030.
Source: Hansard, 01 July 2020
Link: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-16/59661/
PQ2 & PQ3: Smokefree targets
Asked by Bob Blackman MP, Harrow East
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department is making on the Government's target to achieve a smoke-free generation by 2030.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government's response to the Prevention Green Paper consultation will include a commitment to placing a charge on tobacco companies to fund evidence-based tobacco control measures by (a) supporting smokers to quit and (b) reducing the uptake of smoking among young people.
Answered by Jo Churchill MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to achieving a smokefree England by 2030. Plans to achieve this will be set out at a later date, and a response to the Prevention Green Paper will be published in due course.
Source: Hansard, 01 July 2020
Links:
PQ2 - https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-15/59436/
PQ3 - https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-15/59435/
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