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Health campaigners have expressed concern after it emerged that a loophole in the law means it is legal for marketing companies to hand out vapes to children for free.
Vape companies regularly distribute free samples to adults using paid, third-party promotional companies operating in city centres and at festivals and transport hubs. The promotional teams are young, personable and sport the livery of the vape brand they represent. Some use additional free offers, such as soft drinks, to engage with passers-by.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said teams working for Vype had been recently promoting the brand in Brighton, Bristol and Bath, where a 17-year-old working on a market stall was approached and offered a free sample, in return for her email address and with no attempt to establish her age. “The hypocrisy of BAT is staggering,” said Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash. “The company’s website piously states: ‘It’s essential that any tobacco or nicotine products are not marketed to youth. Given the nature of our products, we take seriously our commitment to market them responsibly and only to adults.’ How can they say that doling freebies out like sweets to children counts as responsible marketing?”
When it was alerted to claims that minors were being offered free vapes, ASH approached National Trading Standards and was shocked to learn that a loophole in the law means it is not illegal to hand out free e-cigarettes to children. This is because e-cigarettes are not covered by the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act “prohibition of free distribution” rules as they are not considered a tobacco product. ASH also said that the wording of the relevant sections of the Tobacco and Related Products regulations on e-cigarettes was too vague when it came to prohibiting the distribution of free products to minors.
Deborah Arnott said: “A review of the regulations is required by law and is expected to be launched imminently. We have written to the public health minister to make her aware of this gaping hole in the government’s e-cigarette regulations and to urge her to use the review to plug this legal loophole. This is yet another example of Big Tobacco saying one thing and doing another, living up to the letter of the law but not the spirit.”
Source: The Guardian, 25 October 2020
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English Football League (EFL) has vowed to fight tooth and nail to protect “vital” sponsorship revenue from gambling firms as the Government prepares to launch the biggest overhaul in legislation in 15 years. 16 of the 24 Championship sides had betting partners last season with the league warning new measures would have devastating consequences as clubs are already under unprecedented financial pressure.
The outburst comes just days after the competition asked the Government to allow its clubs to defer tens of millions of pounds of tax payments until the ban on crowds attending games is lifted. The EFL suggested the forthcoming gambling review at Whitehall could compound clubs’ problems. The betting industry, which spends billions on football and horse racing alone, is facing a fight to prove the current status quo is not damaging society.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris, a leading figure in the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on gambling harm, said she would push for tighter laws comparable to the ban on tobacco advertising. “The evidence is there to show that advertising in sports, primarily football, is causing a problem for a generation of children coming up,” she noted.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is leading the initial review, which is set to be launched within weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson would eventually play a key role, having pledged to reform the act in his manifesto.
Source: The Telegraph, 25 October 2020
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Professor Linda Bauld a public health expert at the University of Edinburg, and Professor Caitlin Notley of Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, have responded to a Huff Post Q&A on coronavirus.
One of the key reasons why we are told to keep two metres away from others is because close contact interactions can fuel the spread of COVID-19. The virus can spread in droplets and smaller aerosols expelled from the nose and mouth when a person talks, laughs or breathes. These particles can then be inhaled into the nose, mouth, and lungs of others, and cause infection. So, theoretically, exhaling vapour or smoke could also help spread the virus.
Professor Bauld said: “We do know from smoking that when people exhale cigarette smoke, the side stream smoke that comes out of the cigarette can carry respiratory pathogens. So, it would certainly be, I would say, likely that if [infectious] people are exhaling vapour, there will be [a] virus in that vapour. However, we don’t know how likely it is for somebody to be infected with the virus if they come into contact with e-cigarette vapour, she adds. “I wouldn’t suggest it’s significantly higher risk than somebody [who has the virus] breathing heavily.”
Professor Notley says concern about COVID risk and vapour “is possibly a bit of a red herring.” She says there’s “clearly” a need for studies looking at the exhaled breath of those who vape compared to those who don’t to see if there’s a difference in infectious particles within the breath.
So, what should vapers or smokers do in the meantime? People should be conscious that others who are not smoking or vaping might feel worried about being exposed to your exhalations. “It would be very wise at the current time to recommend that people are not vaping indoors around other people,” says Professor Bauld, “and also secondly that people are not vaping in close proximity to somebody, for example, while standing in the queue to go in a supermarket or eating in an outdoor area.”
“It’s a courtesy to others really of making sure any exhaled vapour is not going to be inhaled by anyone else – so just avoiding crowded, built-up areas like we should all be doing anyway,” Professor Notley adds.
She went on to say: “We wouldn’t want to discourage people from vaping if they’ve chosen to vape as a way of stopping smoking. We do know clearly from the evidence that people who are smoking tobacco have a greater risk of poor COVID outcomes if they are infected.”
Source: Huffington Post, 26 October 2020
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From the beginning of November, anyone visiting any of the Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s sites will not be permitted to smoke. The trust cares for people across the island with mental health problems and learning disabilities at several venues.
Beverley Fryer, head of nursing for mental health and learning disabilities services, said: “If you are visiting someone in one of our hospitals, please help us by not bringing any cigarettes, tobacco products or lighters to the wards. Smoking tobacco damages the lungs, weakens the immune system, and causes a range of severe respiratory problems. Quitting smoking quickly improves circulation and breathing, helps to reduce the risk of other health conditions such a heart attacks and developing severe complications of coronavirus, at a time when the NHS is coming under strain from the pandemic.”
Source: County Press, 25 October 2020
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PQ1 – Tobacco: Excise Duties - Treasury
Asked by Owen Thompson Scottish National Party, Midlothian
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will revise the definition of cigarillos so that they are in the same tax bracket as factory-made cigarettes after the end of transition period.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
While all taxes are kept under review, the Government has no current plans to redefine the classification of cigarillos or increase the duty to the same level as cigarettes.
Source: Hansard, 23 October 2020
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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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