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** 11 August 2020
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** UK
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** London Fire Brigade has seen a 20% increase in smoking-related house fires since lockdown (#1)
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** North East: Newcastle’s new pavement café areas to be smokefree (#2)
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** International
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** Canada: Study links cannabis use during pregnancy to increased autism risk in offspring (#3)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** House of Lords oral questions (#4)
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** UK
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The latest figures from London Fire Brigade show the number of smoking-related fires in the home has increased by around 20% since lockdown. The spike comes despite a million smokers reportedly giving up smoking during the pandemic.
Deputy assistant commissioner for fire safety Charlie Pugsley, said: “Lots of people have been working from home and staying indoors more, which might explain why we have seen a spike in smoking-related fires.”
Concern around the increase in smoking-related fires is heightened by the fact that older age groups are not quitting in the same quantities as their younger counterparts. Older people who live alone had three times as many fires in their home compared to those under 65, with smoking remaining a leading cause of fatal fires.
Charlie Pugsley went on to say: “Because we aren’t seeing smokers over the age of 50 quitting in the same numbers as younger generations, we aren’t going to see a change in the number of smoking-related fires for many more years to come. If you can’t quit, it’s always safer to go outside to smoke, but make sure cigarettes are put right out and disposed of properly.”
Source: Evening Standard, 10 August 2020
See also: London Fire Brigade has seen a 20 per cent increase in smoking-related fires despite over one million people kicking the habit ([link removed] )
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Newcastle City Council has put conditions on new pavement café areas to be smokefree. Pubs, restaurants, and cafes are being urged to make their outside space smokefree and family friendly.
Councillor Irim Ali, the cabinet member for neighbourhoods and public health, said: “The North East has seen the highest rate of people quitting smoking since the start of the pandemic, which is fantastic both for their health and that of everyone around them. However, we know that staying stopped can be far from easy, especially when someone might find themselves in an environment where other people are lighting up. As part of our fast-tracked measures to help the hospitality trade find the space, they need to welcome back customers safely, we’re including a requirement that new pavement café areas be smokefree. We know that is something that the vast majority of people support, as it makes businesses a nicer environment to visit, more family friendly, and has the added bonus of helping ex-smokers avoid relapsing.”
Source: Newcastle City Council, 7 August 2020
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** International
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** A new study suggests children born to mothers who report using cannabis during pregnancy have about a 50% greater risk of developing autism.
The researchers analysed data from around half a million live births in Ontario between 2007 and 2012. The children were followed up until 2017, with autism diagnoses recorded from 18 months. In total, about 3,000 of the mothers reported using cannabis during pregnancy. Findings from the study reveal that 2.2% of children born to mothers who used cannabis during pregnancy developed autism, compared with 1.4% of those born to mothers who did not. To account for other factors, the team controlled for variables such as age, education, health conditions and socioeconomic status. Once these other variables were controlled for the results suggest children born to mothers who used cannabis during pregnancy had a 51% greater risk of developing autism than those born to mothers who did not.
The researchers acknowledge that their study relied on self-reported cannabis use, meaning occasional use was unlikely to be captured. It was also unable to look at the impact of different doses or frequency of cannabis use – or whether cannabis use changed over pregnancy.
Dr Daniel Corsi, an epidemiologist at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and a co-author of the study said: “Now the universal recommendation is no alcohol use in pregnancy and I think a similar recommendation should be made for no cannabis use in pregnancy.”
Source: The Guardian, 10 August 2020
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** See also: Nature Medicine Journal – Maternal cannabis use in pregnancy and child neurodevelopmental outcomes ([link removed])
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** Parliamentary Activity
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PQ1: Smoking: Pregnancy
Asked by Lord Rennard
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the data included in Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery: England Quarter 4, 2019–20, published on 7 July, what assessment they have made of Greater Manchester’s Smokefree Pregnancy programme; and what plans they have to implement a national smoke-free pregnancy incentives programme along the lines of that programme.
Answered by Lord Bethell, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care
The Government has a track record of reducing the harms caused by tobacco and is committed to achieving its ambition to reduce the rate of smoking in pregnancy to 6% or less by 2022.
The Government is aware of the work undertaken in Greater Manchester, although we have not made a formal assessment of it. The programme will be considered by officials when exploring further ways that we can protect babies and their parents from the consequences of smoking in pregnancy.
Source: Hansard, 10 August 2020
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PQ2: Smoking: Health Education
Asked by Lord Rennard
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase funding for public education campaigns about smoking in order (1) to encourage people who have quit smoking during the COVID-19 lockdown to remain smoke-free, and (2) to motivate people to quit smoking in coming months.
Answered by Lord Bethell, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care
The Government has committed £70,000 to support the ‘Today is the Day’ campaign which is targeted at localities with high smoking prevalence. Public Health England’s annual Stoptober campaign will be held in October 2020 and will take account of the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Hansard, 10 August 2020
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