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** 11 January 2021
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** UK
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** How hopes for Kind Consumer’s alternative to cigarettes went up in smoke (#3)
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** Jersey: (#3) Stub it out! People in Jersey encouraged to quit smoking (#2)
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** International
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** US: Even 'Light' Smoking Can Quickly Become Addictive (#1)
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** Pakistan: Call for steps to curtail tobacco lobby’s influence on legislative bodies (#4)
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** UK
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New details have emerged about how Kind Consumer, a smoking-cessation start-up once backed by the likes of fund managers Crispin Odey and Neil Woodford and venture capitalist Jon Moulton, ended up going into administration and being sold off in November 2020.
Kind Consumer was founded in 2006 and developed the Voke nicotine inhaler device, a device which would deliver nicotine in very small doses using the same propellant technology used in asthma inhalers. The aim was to upend the multibillion-pound tobacco market and solve the issue of smoking-related disease.
The venture raised £140 million. Yet in November, six years after Voke had secured approval from the medicines regulator, Kind Consumer went up in smoke. Administrators agreed to sell the assets for only £1.6 million to OBG Consumer Scientific, a subsidiary of Pharmaserve, via a pre-pack sale, a fast-track insolvency process. The sale saved the jobs of its 12 employees and allows a potential relaunch of Voke, but does little to temper the scale of the company’s demise.
Issues emerged when a European tobacco products directive passed in 2014 meant that e-cigarettes and other nicotine devices, like Voke, could be sold without being regulated as medical products by the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The shift in policy triggered a stampede of competition from start-up e-cigarette companies and Big Tobacco alike.
The failure of Kind Consumer, which burnt its all-star cast of investors, marked the end of the slow collapse of a start-up whose prospects had once burnt bright but had been stamped out by a shift in government policy, a souring of relations with British American Tobacco, and costly manufacturing challenges.
Start-ups often lead the way in emerging industries, but the e-cigarette market has become increasingly dominated by so-called Big Tobacco. British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands are the three largest players in the industry, accounting for about 30 per cent of sales in Britain, according to data from the market researcher Euromonitor.
BAT, the UK market leader, owns the Vuse and Vype brands; Imperial, based in Bristol, is behind Blu; and JTI sells the Logic devices. BAT’s market share increased to 19.3 per cent in 2019, up from 12.5 per cent in 2014, according to Euromonitor. JTI and Imperial each have a 5.2 per cent share.
Source: The Times, 11 January 2021
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People in Jersey are being encouraged to give up smoking. Islanders are being told that there is no better time to give up the habit, with evidence showing those who smoke have an increased risk of complications if they catch coronavirus.
They are being advised to join Help2Quit, Jersey's free stop smoking service. Those who use it are said to increase their chances of quitting by up to three times compared to those who try to stop without help.
Dr Rhona Reardon, Jersey's Help2Quit Lead Nurse, said: ‘’Some smokers may have delayed quitting during 2020 owing to stress related to the impact of the coronavirus on their mental health. However, stopping smoking can help reduce stress and people who quit also report feeling more in control and happier. While New Year is a time people think about making changes to their health, the Stop Smoking Service is available to islanders all year round.’’
Source: ITV, 11 January 2021
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** International
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A new study has found that people who think of themselves as casual cigarette smokers can also be addicted to nicotine. Those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should be considered for treatment, researchers say.
Where doctors usually ask patients how many cigarettes they smoke to determine addiction, the study examined data from more than 6,700 smokers who had been assessed in this way to see if they qualified for fifth edition Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) criteria for tobacco use disorder, a different commonly-used measurement. They found that 85% of daily cigarette smokers were addicted to nicotine under the DSM-5 criteria.
Almost two-thirds of those smoking only one to four cigarettes per day were addicted, and around a quarter of those smoking less than weekly were addicted. Researchers also found that nicotine addiction increased with frequency. Thirty-five percent of those who smoked one to four cigarettes per day, and 74% of those who smoked 21 cigarettes or more each day, were moderately or severely addicted, according to the study.
Doctors should ask patients about their smoking behaviour as even those who don't smoke every day may still need treatment to quit, researchers concluded.
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Source: US News, 04 January 2021
See also: Report - Association Between Cigarette Smoking Frequency and Tobacco Use Disorder in U.S. Adults ([link removed](20)30514-6/fulltext)
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The government should take strict measures to curtail the influence of the tobacco lobby on legislative bodies and avoid giving tax benefits to multinational companies, according to a new research study entitled ‘Regional tobacco tax regime and its implications for health’.
The study, conducted and released by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said laws against tobacco products, including cigarettes, should be implemented in letter and in spirit without any compromise. The government should maintain distance from the tobacco industry and claims made by tobacco companies regarding the illicit trade of cigarettes should be rejected and no favours should be offered to them in taxation, it said.
The study suggested that a uniform tax system needs to be enforced at all levels so as to control tax evasion, urging the government to abolish the tier system that was providing tax evasion opportunities to tobacco companies.
Without requisite distance, the report warned that the tobacco lobby would be powerful enough to demand tax relaxations in the name of illicit trade. The average price of a cigarette pack in Pakistan remains the lowest in the region.
Source: Dawn, 10 January 2021
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