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Rebecca Pow, the environmental minister, has warned that litter from cigarette butts could be brought within extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules if the tobacco industry fails to join an effective voluntary scheme. Pow issued the threat at a meeting with tobacco industry representatives and Keep Britain Tidy (KBT), observed by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
Pow told the meeting that discarded cigarette butts were not merely unsightly but contributed to plastics pollution and emitted toxic chemicals. She said that, despite smoking rates in England being at their lowest recorded level, cigarette butts were the most littered item.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) latest litter composition study with KBT found on average that 66% of litter items were cigarette butts, and a further 2% were other smoking materials. KBT had told Defra that the tobacco industry spent only £70,000 a year on litter prevention compared with estimated annual profits more than £1bn.
Pow said: “It was disappointing that, when presented with an opportunity to make a significant contribution through a voluntary producer responsibility scheme, it seemed the industry had effectively declined.” She said the lack of serious investment by the industry to clear up the mess its products caused could not continue, and it would be “held to account.”
ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said a voluntary scheme would not be appropriate and only a legally binding solution would work. She noted that local authorities could have problems in their ability to access funds from a voluntary scheme.
Source: MRW, 29 September 2020
See also: DEFRA - Smoking related litter roundtable meeting, 2 Sep 2020
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Wales is set to be the first country in the UK to ban smoking outside hospitals, on school grounds or at local authority playgrounds. The new restrictions are due to come into effect from 1 March 2021, to: “reduce exposure to second-hand smoke and further de-normalise smoking behaviour, particularly amongst children and young people.” The ban will be enforced by local authorities who will be able to issue fixed-penalty notices.
The Welsh Government posted an impact assessment summary yesterday (29 September) and wrote: “The consensus, is that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke and, while some progress has been made in non-enclosed smoke-free environments through voluntary action, comprehensive legislation is required to make significant progress in protecting public health. The 2020 Regulations will aim to ensure the further denormalisation of smoking by restricting smoking in more public places, particularly where children are likely to be present on a regular basis (such as school grounds and public playgrounds). This will reduce children’s exposure to adult smoking behaviours in their everyday lives, with the intention of making them less likely to grow up thinking that smoking is normal or aspirational adult behaviour.”
Source: Metro, 29 September 2020
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Penelope Cruz, American actress, recently shared that she took up smoking after playing characters who smoked in Blow (2001) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).
After smoking for a “few years”, Penelope decided to quit to focus on achieving optimal health to have children. She reportedly used to smoke seven or eight cigarettes a day.
Source: Daily Mail, 28 September 2020
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Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have warned that using e-cigarettes with nickel-chromium alloy heating elements on high power could cause lung damage, following a study on rats.
The study used rats to explore the effects of e-cigarette vapour on the cardiovascular system. E-cigarettes with a stainless-steel heating element were originally used to expose rats to e-cigarette vapour and no rats exhibited respiratory systems. However, upon replacing the original devices with products containing a nickel-chromium alloy heating element the rats exposed to vapour from these devices exhibited acute respiratory distress.
The researchers say the respiratory symptoms are similar to those seen in the e‐cigarette or vaping product use–associated lung injury (EVALI) cases seen across America in summer-autumn 2019.
The researchers have called for additional studies into the effects of the vaping device on the lungs.
Source: Mirror, 29 September 2020
See also: JAHA - E‐cigarette or Vaping Product Use–Associated Lung Injury Produced in an Animal Model from Electronic Cigarette Vapor Exposure Without Tetrahydrocannabinol or Vitamin E Oil
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Researchers led by the Australian National University’s national centre for epidemiology and population health have conducted a meta-analysis examining 25 research studies on e-cigarette use and smoking uptake from around the world. They found e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking, especially among young people.
The lead researcher, Professor Emily Banks, said the magnitude of that risk varied depending on the country the research was done in, but on average non-smokers were three times more likely to take up tobacco smoking if they used e-cigarettes. The preliminary study, currently available in pre-print, is one part of a broader review of e-cigarettes for the federal government, which is looking at trends in smoking and nicotine use in Australia and will report in June 2021.
Banks went onto say: “Our review found that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to conclude that e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking compared to other approaches, but there are promising signs that they have potential to help.”
Current guidelines from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has e-cigarettes listed as a last resort for quitting after other measures.
Source: The Guardian, 29 September 2020
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