View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** 17 November 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** Comment: Health pays the price when Big Tobacco woos policymakers (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Imperial Brands results indicates people swapping e-cigarettes for tobacco (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Professor Kevin Fenton named Britain’s second most influential black person (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
**
As governments around the world are focused on fighting Covid-19, tobacco companies are encouraging policy makers to let down their guard against the main driver of another deadly epidemic: tobacco use. The latest Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, a report card that assesses 57 governments’ efforts to halt tobacco industry interference in policy decisions, shows that governments have a lot of work still to do.
According to the Index, big tobacco stepped up its meddling during 2019 and accelerated these efforts in 2020, even as a respiratory health crisis swept the globe. This year, governments have been accepting donations of personal protective equipment, medical supplies and money from tobacco companies. The companies, whose products kill eight million people every year, then used those donations to promote themselves as helping efforts to combat the deadly virus.
But self-promotion is just the beginning; tobacco company donations also turned into requests for favours. In Bangladesh, British American Tobacco’s subsidiary donated PPE to hospitals during the pandemic. Shortly afterwards, the country’s Ministry of Industries urged government agencies to work with BAT and Japan Tobacco International during the shutdown. The Index shows that Bangladesh is working to improve protection for health policy, but acceptance of this type of corporate social responsibility outreach is one of the ways the tobacco industry retains influence.
Some governments, like the UK, have slipped down the rankings since the last Index. In the UK, the industry was allowed to take part in two government consultations in 2019 and several government ministers appointed in 2019 have tobacco industry links. Governments are more vulnerable than ever to industry influence during the pandemic and tobacco companies have taken advantage of the moment. Governments have the tools to protect health and health policy, and are obliged to use them. They must stand firm, resist industry interference, hold tobacco companies liable for damage and protect their citizens from companies that pretend to be bearing gifts but are actually only causing harm.
Source: The Telegraph, 17 November 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
**
Cigarette company Imperial Brands’ (IMBBY) full-year results indicate that globally people are shunning e-cigarettes for tobacco.
Lockdowns, restrictions on travel and a boost from fiscal stimulus measures in “several markets” resulted in changes in consumer behaviour, the company said, meaning a “slightly better market size trends for the group overall.” COVID-19 also increased the number of customers buying in bulk and increased demand for “big box” formats as people took less frequent trips to the shops.
Top-line figures showed a full-year adjusted revenue of £7.99bn ($10.57bn). This was up 0.8% in the full year ended 30 September.
Source: Yahoo! News, 17 November 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
**
A Public Health England director has been named the second most influential black person in Britain for his work leading the fight against coronavirus. Professor Kevin Fenton, who was ranked just behind Lewis Hamilton and ahead of Stormzy, is being recognised for leading the capital’s response to coronavirus, including minimising the impact on BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities.
Professor Fenton joined the Health Protection Agency (now PHE) in 1999 as director of the HIV and STI department, before working at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, where he encouraged HIV prevention work among African American organisations. In 2012 he returned to the UK to join PHE, where he guided several policies including combatting tobacco use and obesity, and promoting mental and sexual health issues.
Source: Oxford Mail, 17 November 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here. ([link removed])
For more information call 020 7404 0242, email
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
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.
============================================================
Our mailing address is:
Action on Smoking and Health
6th Floor New House
Hatton Garden
London
EC1N 8JY
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
