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A new public health agency could be formed to take on the health improvement and prevention functions of the soon-to-be-defunct Public Health England (PHE), the health secretary said in a letter to MPs yesterday.
There has been substantial speculation over the fate of the functions of PHE not related to health protection. On Tuesday, HSJ was told by senior sources there is little appetite among some senior policymakers for a new standalone public health agency to be formed.
But in a letter to MPs, Matt Hancock suggested this was still an option. He said there are “a number of options for the future”, including “embedding health improvement responsibilities into existing national and local organisations or creating a standalone organisation with responsibility for health improvement”.
A senior source close to the proposed changes had previously told HSJ that many of the defunct agency’s functions would return to the NHS in 2021-22, while others would be shared more locally between developing integrated care systems and local government.
Source: Health Service Journal, 19 August 2020
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Recent meetings between Liz Truss, the UK trade secretary, and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a pro-hard Brexit thinktank with links to the tobacco industry, have been reclassified as personal discussions, removing them from the public record and sparking allegations from Labour that she wants to conceal the group’s influence on public policy.
Two meetings with Truss and the IEA had originally been included in quarterly transparency data published on the government’s website and described as discussing trade. They were removed on Wednesday (19 August) with a note explaining they were personal meetings – the first such revision since the Department was created in 2016.
The IEA is an influential right-leaning thinktank that promotes free markets and has argued strongly for a hard break from the European Union since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Labour said Truss appeared to be evading rules designed to ensure integrity, transparency and honesty in public office. Government rules require meetings with external organisations that discuss official business to be declared.
The Department for International Trade said the meetings were initially included due to an administrative error and they held no information about them. It declined to comment when asked how a meeting on trade and investment could be considered a personal meeting.
The IEA said it regularly hosted events and meetings with ministers and others but did not provide any further details of the meetings with Truss.
Source: The Guardian, 20 August 2020
See also
Tobacco Tactics: Institute of Economic Affairs
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A train company has revealed that passengers smoking on its services has cost the operator £20,000 in just eight months, as well as inconveniencing hundreds of customers. Greater Anglia has seen eight incidents of passengers smoking or vaping in train toilets across its network since January 2020.
Smoking and vaping are banned onboard all the operator’s trains, and rule breakers have caused more than 100 minutes of delays, as well as five cancellations. Smoking and vaping are also banned at all Greater Anglia stations, with fines of up to £200 for those caught doing so.
A Greater Anglia spokesperson told the East Anglian Daily Times that, while it’s easier to detect smoking on the operator’s new trains, there has still been an issue with passengers ignoring the rules across its network.
Smoking has been illegal on all trains in the UK since 2005.
Source: The Independent, 19 August 2020
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Tobacco companies are determined to move forward with litigation against the South African Government for banning the sale of tobacco products during the nearly five-month coronavirus lockdown. The tobacco ban was imposed under the 2002 Disaster Management Act, the government justifying it on health grounds based on advice from its medical experts as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO).
South Africa's ban on the sale of tobacco products and alcohol was lifted on Monday, as part of the easing of measures imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa.
The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA), an organisation representing 80% of cigarette manufacturers in South Africa, brought forward a court application on May 4 against the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
FITA said there is no rational connection between the cigarette sale ban and the aim of the state of disaster declaration which is to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Pretoria High Court dismissed FITA's challenge on June 26, ruling that Dlamini-Zuma acted reasonably with a view to save lives when she banned sales of tobacco products. On Friday, the Supreme Court granted FITA the right to appeal.
FITA's president, Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, said the association would proceed with its lawsuit. FITA initially wanted to compel the government to reintroduce the sale of tobacco products but, since the ban was removed on Monday, it now seeks an order prohibiting the government from banning tobacco sales again, should South Africa move to a stricter lockdown in the future.
Organisations such as the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa have supported the ban.
Source: Aljazeera, 19 August 2020
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The Department of Health and Social Care has published information on how requirements for labelling tobacco products will change after the end of the transition period, as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol. In the guidance, the Government commits to maintaining the current regulatory standards for tobacco and related products after the end of the transition period.
The Government will introduce the Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (2020 Regulations) to amend the existing 2019 regulations and implement the obligations of the Northern Ireland Protocol in law.
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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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