View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** 15 January 2021
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK’s SFO closes corruption probe into BAT (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Politicians and media getting more hostile towards charities, survey finds (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** South East: Police seize 49,000 illegal cigarettes from shops in Gravesend (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Parliamentary Activity
------------------------------------------------------------


** Parliamentary Questions (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Links of the Week
------------------------------------------------------------


** Webinar: Leaving no smoker behind (#5)
------------------------------------------------------------


** A breath of fresh air: Research into the training needs of UK GPs on Very Brief Advice for smoking cessation (#6)
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


**
British American Tobacco (BAT) said on Friday, 15 January 2021, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had closed an investigation into suspicions of corruption by the company, more than three years after initiating it.

Britain opened a formal investigation in August 2017, nearly two years after allegations of BAT employees bribing officials in East African countries to undermine anti-smoking laws, first surfaced.

But the SFO said it has now discontinued its investigation as “the evidence, in this case, did not meet the evidential test for prosecution.”

Source: Reuters, 15 January 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Charities are facing increased hostility from politicians and the media, with some in danger of being reduced to “fodder for phoney culture wars,” according to a leading campaigning group.

The Sheila McKechnie Foundation said its annual survey of campaigners showed that nearly two-thirds thought politicians were becoming increasingly negative and less tolerant towards charities which actively fight for social justice. It said the hostile political environment felt by many included politicians “shutting down channels of communication and attacking campaigners and their allies as a threat to the common good.”

The foundation said the findings came after years of ever-tightening restrictions on charity campaigning, including lobbying restrictions, and the use of “gagging clauses” in grants and contracts to prevent charities openly criticising government policy. Nine out of ten campaigners said they thought the freedom to organise, speak out or protest was under threat. Over half (56%) felt conditions had worsened over the past year, while 72% said negative media coverage was a threat to their freedom to campaign.

The survey suggests that politicians and the media are out of touch with public attitudes to campaigning. Over half of respondents felt the public was increasingly positive about social justice issues, citing widespread support for the Black Lives Matter campaign, and the footballer Marcus Rashford’s action over food poverty.

Source: The Guardian, 15 January 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Officers from the Gravesend Community Safety Unit seized 49,000 illegal cigarettes in two shops during patrols in the past week. The first haul was discovered during a routine patrol at 2pm on 8 January. Officers uncovered 38,000 illicit cigarettes.

Officers also visited a second shop on Tuesday 10 January, seizing more than 11,000 cigarettes and 92 pouches of untaxed tobacco. No arrests have been made, but inquiries are ongoing between police, Kent Trading Standards and Gravesham council to take “appropriate action.”

Chief Insp Junior Dann, district commander for Dartford and Gravesham, said: “Offending like this is not a harmless crime.

“As a force, we work tirelessly to ensure any business found benefitting from the sale of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products are dealt with robustly. We continue to work with partner agencies, such as Trading Standards, to ensure any business found operating in this way is stopped from doing so, and we will continue to clamp down on businesses which are involved in this type of offending.”

Source: Kent Online, 14 January 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


** Parliamentary Activity
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Tobacco, Smoking - DHSC (Grouped questions)

------------------------------------------------------------


** 1. Asked by Lee Anderson Conservative, Ashfield

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) processes, (b) public consultation exercises and (c) other procedures his Department plans to undertake in the production of its next Tobacco Control Plan.

2. Asked by Lee Anderson Conservative, Ashfield

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals (a) to implement the Government's commitment to make England smokefree by 2030 and (b) as part of the Government's next Tobacco Control Plan; and what the timetable will be for bringing forward any such legislative proposals.

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

The Government is committed to addressing the harms from smoking. The Department held a public consultation on its Smokefree 2030 ambition as part of the prevention green paper consultation which was published in July 2019. The Department, working with Public Health England and NHS England, will engage key stakeholders about potential proposals to include in the new plan, and this will include consideration of legislative proposals. The new tobacco control plan is expected in July 2021. No timetable has been set for any legislative changes.
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Source: Hansard, 15 January 2021

[link removed]

PQ3: Tobacco - DHSC

Asked by Lee Anderson Conservative, Ashfield

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take into account the EU's Tobacco Products Directive when developing the next UK Government's Tobacco Control Plan.

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

------------------------------------------------------------


** A new Tobacco Control Plan for England will be published later this summer to outline the Government’s plans to achieve its ambition to be smokefree by 2030.

The Government has made the necessary legislative amendments to ensure robust tobacco control regulation continues throughout the United Kingdom after the 1 January 2021 and give effect to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Great Britain no longer has to comply with the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive and, as part of the development of the Tobacco Control Plan for England, there will be opportunity to consider whether any regulatory changes are required to help people quit smoking and address the harms from tobacco. Any changes will be based on robust international evidence and be in the interests of public health.
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Source: Hansard, 15 January 2021

[link removed]
------------------------------------------------------------


** Links of the Week
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


**
On Tuesday 19th January 2021, 14:00 – 16:30, London South Bank University is hosting a webinar on the importance of smoking cessation, particularly among vulnerable groups. The event is for anyone interested in finding solutions to smoking-related death and disease in adults presenting with substance use, mental illness, and homelessness.

The agenda will cover:
------------------------------------------------------------

*
** Introduction to Leaving No Smoker Behind
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Working with smokers experiencing homeless
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Integrating tobacco dependence support within substance use services
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Panel discussion
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Closing statements
------------------------------------------------------------




** The full agenda, including timings and speakers, and how to register is available here ([link removed]) .
------------------------------------------------------------


**

Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation has published a report, based on research undertaken at the beginning of 2020, with over 1,000 GPs across the UK, which shares new insights into VBA training and delivery in general practice.

Findings from the report show:
------------------------------------------------------------

*
** Half of GPs have never had any training in how to provide VBA for smoking cessation.
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Only 2% said they had had training in VBA which they thought was comprehensive.
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** GPs who have had training in are three times more likely to deliver it weekly, compared to those who have had very little or no training.
------------------------------------------------------------

View Report ([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])