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** 14 October 2025
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UK


** Quitting smoking in middle age linked to improved long-term brain health (#1)
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** Quitting smoking quickly reduces heart attack risk, says NHS (#2)
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** Experts warn against relying on weight loss jabs as long-term solution (#4)
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International


** Southeast Asia leads global decline in tobacco use but faces new challenges (#5)
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** Alcohol industry lobbying delays Ireland’s cancer warning labels (#6)
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Parliamentary activity


** Written Answers (#7)
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UK


** Quitting smoking in middle age linked to improved long-term brain health

A new international study has found that people who stop smoking in middle age may experience a significant slowing of cognitive decline, with their risk of developing dementia eventually aligning with those who have never smoked. The research, involving over 9,000 participants across Europe and the US, showed that memory loss and verbal fluency deteriorated far more slowly in those who gave up smoking compared to those who continued. The findings suggest that quitting, even later in life, brings cognitive as well as physical health benefits.

Experts note that smoking damages brain health through multiple mechanisms, including reduced blood flow and increased inflammation. Although some factors such as lifestyle and socioeconomic background may also play a role, the evidence strengthens the case for quitting smoking as part of dementia prevention strategies.

Caroline Cerny of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) highlighted the importance of quitting before symptoms of decline emerge and called for continued support for stop smoking services.

Source: The Guardian, 14 October 2025

See also: Bloomberg M., et al. Cognitive decline before and after mid-to-late-life smoking cessation: longitudinal analysis of prospective cohort studies from 12 countries. ([link removed]) The Lancet. 2025.
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** Quitting smoking quickly reduces heart attack risk, says NHS

The NHS has reiterated the significant health benefits of stopping smoking, highlighting how the body begins to repair itself almost immediately after quitting. According to a newly shared timeline, oxygen levels start to recover within hours, breathing improves within days, and lung function increases over months. After just one year, the risk of heart attack can be reduced by half, and after 15 years, it may match the level of someone who has never smoked. The advice comes amid ongoing concerns about the high number of smoking-related hospital admissions, with the NHS urging smokers to consider personalised quit plans and seek support to improve both heart and overall health.

Source: The Mirror, 13 October 2025

See also: NHS - Get a free Personal Quit Plan ([link removed])
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** Experts warn against relying on weight loss jabs as long-term solution

Health organisations and policy leaders have expressed concern over the growing reliance on weight loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, now used by over 2.5 million people in the UK.

Katherine Jenner from the Obesity Health Alliance cautioned that while the drugs may help in the short term, they do not address the long-term nature of obesity and carry potential health risks. She warned that many users may regain weight without proper ongoing support.

The Government has pledged to make these treatments widely available, warning against a two-tier health system that favours the wealthy. Meanwhile, private pharmacies continue to increase prices amid high demand and global supply concerns.

Source: The Telegraph, 12 October 2025

Editorial note: Media stories covering prevention of ill-health are being included in ASH Daily News because policy change in these areas is indicative of the Government’s position on prevention and their attitudes to harm-causing industries.
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International


** Southeast Asia leads global decline in tobacco use but faces new challenges

Tobacco use in Southeast Asia has dropped dramatically, with smoking rates falling by around 40% since 2010 and the number of male tobacco users halving from 70% in 2000 to about 35% today. Once the region with the highest per capita tobacco use, it now ranks second globally, after Europe. According to WHO data, more than 50% of smokers in the region have quit, contributing to a global decline of 120 million tobacco users since 2010—a 27% reduction.

Despite this, Southeast Asia remains home to a quarter of the world’s tobacco users, with over a quarter of men and around one in seven women using smokeless tobacco. E-cigarette use is rising too, with about one in seven adolescents aged 13–15 reporting use, compared to just one in 1,000 in the general population. Experts warn that further progress depends on addressing these emerging trends, alongside stronger taxation, plain packaging, and improved regulation of smokeless and illicit products.

Source: DW, 13 October 2025

See also: WHO - Global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030 ([link removed])
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** Alcohol industry lobbying delays Ireland’s cancer warning labels

Ireland’s groundbreaking plan to introduce cancer warnings on all alcoholic beverages has been postponed from 2026 to 2028 following intense lobbying by major alcohol producers. New documents reveal coordinated efforts involving global companies like Heineken and AB InBev, who engaged Irish ministers, EU officials, and even US trade representatives to challenge the legislation. The industry cited trade concerns, economic impact, and disputed scientific evidence to argue against the warnings, describing them as misleading and fear-inducing.

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus linking alcohol to cancer, regulators delayed implementation amid pressure, with the EU favouring less direct measures like QR codes, which research shows have minimal consumer engagement. Health advocates warn this delay risks undermining public health progress in Ireland, where over 1,500 deaths were alcohol-related in 2019.

Source: The Journal, 13 October 2025

Editorial note: Media stories covering prevention of ill-health are being included in ASH Daily News because policy change in these areas is indicative of the Government’s position on prevention and their attitudes to harm-causing industries.
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Parliamentary activity


** Written Answers

Asked by Lisa Smart, Liberal Democrat, Hazel Grove

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent children from illegally purchasing vapes.

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

Selling nicotine vapes to under 18-year-olds is illegal, yet one in four 11 to 15-year-olds tried vaping in 2023. It is unacceptable that vapes are deliberately branded and advertised to appeal to children.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children by banning vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children, and by providing powers to limit flavours and packaging, and how vapes are displayed in shops.

The bill also takes bold action to strengthen enforcement. It will introduce £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales to empower Trading Standards to take swifter action to fine those who choose to break the law and sell to anyone underage, putting the public’s health at risk. The bill will also enable ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vapes, and nicotine products. This will strengthen enforcement, support legitimate businesses, and crack down on rogue retailers who breach tobacco and vape regulations.

Alongside the bill, the Government is also investing £10 million of new funding in 2025/26 in Trading Standards, to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales and the implementation of the measures in the bill.
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** Asked by Natalie Fleet, Labour, Bolsover

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help tackle the sale of illicit tobacco.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Labour, Chipping Barnet

The Government has dedicated significant resource to tackling illicit tobacco and has set out its approach to doing so in successive strategies dating back to 2000. These strategies have been highly effective in reducing the estimated duty gap for cigarettes from 16.9% in 2005 to 10.5% in 2023/24 and for hand-rolling tobacco from 65.2% to 22.9% over the same period. In the tax year 2023 to 2024, the duty gap for tobacco duty was 13.8% of the theoretical tobacco duty liability, or £1.4 billion in absolute terms.

HMRC publishes annual data on seizures, criminal investigations and civil penalties related to tobacco. Between April 2024 and March 2025, HMRC and Border Force seized 1.19bn cigarettes and 125,088kg of hand-rolling tobacco.

In January 2024, HMRC and Border Force published the latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem [1]’. This sets out the Governments’ continued commitment to reduce the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and to tackle and disrupt the organised crime groups behind the illicit tobacco trade.

The strategy is supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding over 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability.

HMRC has not specifically assessed the impact of illicit tobacco on the annual revenues of corner shops.

[ 1 ] Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ([link removed])
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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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