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** 12 January 2021
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** UK
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** North East: Smokers are being urged to quit before they have any regrets (#1)
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** Stubbing it out: More than £300,000 saved by Lincolnshire quitters (#2)
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** International
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** Italy: Florence sets to ban outdoor smoking (#3)
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** US Study: Experimenting with tobacco and e-cigarettes at a younger age increases the risk of becoming a regular smoker in the future (#4)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary Questions (#5)
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** UK
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**

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** A North East doctor is urging smokers to make 2021 the year they quit and do not wait to have regrets. New figures show that quit success rates this year among those who tried - 21.7 % - were higher than at any point since 2007. About 48% of all 18 to 24-year-old smokers made a quit attempt in the last year. Data released earlier in 2020 shows the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in quitting with around a million people making a quit attempt during the first national lockdown.

Dr Ruth Sharrock – the face of the ‘Don’t Wait’ campaign from Fresh - said: “I want to help everyone look forward to a more positive 2021, where we all reflect on the way our lifestyles impact on our health and fitness, and ability to cope with infections and make some really positive changes. For smokers – the single most important thing you can do to improve your health and extend your life expectancy is to stop smoking. I would urge smokers to make contact with stop smoking services to maximise their chances of success, and for smokers’ families to really help motivate and support them.”

Ailsa Rutter OBE, director of Fresh, said: “Smoking reduces your fitness and harms your lungs, and increases the risks of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Hundreds of thousands of people have tried to quit smoking this year. Don’t ever give up on quitting smoking or think it is too late – no matter when you quit. It brings important health benefits at any age.”

Source: News Post Leader, 8 January 2021

See also: ASH press release: A million people have stopped smoking since the COVID pandemic hit Britain ([link removed] )
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** According to data released by healthy lifestyle service provider One You Lincolnshire, smokers who participated in a county-wide Quit Smoking programme last year, managed to avoid smoking over 520,110 cigarettes, equating to more than 26,000 packs of 20.

With the average pack of the most expensive cigarettes currently costing £12.73, it is estimated that £331,000 was saved in the process that would otherwise have been spent on cigarettes.

Becky Anderson, Smoking Cessation Lead at One You Lincolnshire, said: “Quitting smoking can have a very quick, positive impact. Within 24 hours after you quit, carbon monoxide and nicotine will be eliminated from your body. Between three and nine months after you quit, coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will improve as your lung function is increased by up to 10%. One year after you quit, your risk of coronary heart disease is cut in half.”

Source: Skegness Standard, 11 January 2020
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** International
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** Florence is set to ban smoking in parks and at bus stops as part of new measures designed to improve air quality in the city. The measure will be included in Florence's upcoming plan to reduce air pollution, which is due to be approved by the end of February. The smoking ban is expected to be approved next month and is likely to come into force in June 2021.

Moves by Florence to restrict smoking in public comes as Milan introduced a ban on smoking at bus stops, stadiums, cemeteries, playgrounds and parks, effective from 1 January 2021.

Source: The Local, 11 January 2021
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** A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics has found that experimenting with multiple tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and e-cigarettes from a younger age increase the risk of becoming a regular smoker.

Researchers from the University of San Diego studied data on the evolving tobacco product use among more than 49,000 young people aged between 12–24 in the US between 2013 and 2014. Each participant was interviewed annually over four years to explore how different tobacco products might progress from experimentation to daily use.

The team found that only 1% of those who experimented with a single tobacco product progressed to smoking cigarettes daily — but this figure rose to 15% among those who tried out five or more different forms of tobacco. By the fourth year of the study, 12% of those polled were using tobacco products daily — with half having becoming daily users after the first year. Of these, 70% smoked cigarettes daily — with the majority, at 63%, using cigarettes exclusively.

The team found that tobacco use increased with age through to 28 years old among those who experimented with tobacco usage from a young age. The percentage of daily cigarette smokers nearly doubled between the ages of 18–21 (12%) and 25–28 (21%).

Source: Daily Mail, 11 January 2021
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** See also: Journal of Pediatrics - Use of E-cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products and Progression to Daily Cigarette Smoking ([link removed])

Editorial Note

The researchers classified e-cigarettes as tobacco products. This study shows what is already known that young people who try e-cigarettes are more likely to experiment with cigarettes and other tobacco products. If e-cigarettes are available to young people, what matters is if more young people become smokers than if e-cigarettes were not available.

The fact that smoking rates among young people continue to decline rapidly in countries where e-cigarettes are prevalent indicates that e-cigarettes are not leading young people into regular smoking.
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** Parliamentary Activity
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**
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** PQ 1-2: Tobacco: Smuggling – Treasury (Grouped questions)

1. Asked by Martyn Day Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who will be responsible for holding the supply chain data for tobacco products entering the UK as part of track and trace arrangements.

2. Asked by Martyn Day Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the potential merits of incorporating an internationally-recognised tax stamp as part of the UK’s tobacco track and trace regime and a security label to safeguard the UK’s tobacco tax revenue and reduce illicit tobacco flows; and whether his Department plans to introduce such a tax stamp.

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** Answered by Kemi Badenoch, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
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** Now the transition period has ended the UK will operate a standalone tobacco track and trace system, with Northern Ireland forming part of both the UK and EU systems.
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** The UK’s track and trace service provider ‘De la Rue’ will be responsible for holding all data generated by the tracking of products manufactured in, or imported into the UK up to the first point of retail. The EU will also continue to hold data in respect of Northern Ireland at the end of the transition period. HM Revenue and Customs will have full access to the data in respect of the UK track and trace arrangements.
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** Alongside the introduction of the track and trace system, a new anti-tamper proof security label was introduced in May 2019 for all packs of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco destined for the UK market. The anti-counterfeit security label incorporates overt and covert authentication elements, which complement the track and trace system to prove the authenticity of the product. As such, the government has no plans to introduce tax stamps for tobacco products.
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** Source: Hansard, 11 January 2021
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** [link removed]

PQ3: Tobacco: Smuggling – DHSC

Asked by Martyn Day Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission an independent, academic-led study into the issue of illicit tobacco smuggling in the UK to assess the scale of the potential role of major tobacco producers in that matter.

Answered by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are the responsible Government department leading on illicit tobacco and there are no current plans to commission a study but they will keep the need for further analysis under review.

Source: Hansard, 11 January 2021
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PQ4: Tobacco – DHSC

Asked by Martyn Day Scottish National Party, Linlithgow and East Falkirk

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to strengthen the UK's tobacco control regime after the transition period.

Answered by Jo Churchill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care

The Government has introduced the Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, ensuring that after the end of the transition period we continue to maintain our strong tobacco control legislation to address the harms from tobacco. Post-transition period, Great Britain will no longer have to comply with the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive and there will be opportunity to consider future regulatory changes to address the harms from tobacco. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and in the interests of public health.

Source: Hansard, 11 January 2021
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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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