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** 01 February 2021
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** UK
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New anti-tobacco littering scheme launched, funded by Philip Morris International (#1)


** International
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Nigeria: Tobacco companies using intermediaries ‘to promote image’ – report (#2)
South Africa: Tobacco ban case set to continue on 15 February (#3)
US: Intensive counselling improves smoking cessation rates in patients with cancer (#4)
EU 'not fit for purpose' to reduce poverty in Europe, says UN envoy (#5)


** UK
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**

Clean Up Britain has been funded by tobacco company PMI to launch what it says is the most comprehensive anti-cigarette litter programme ever undertaken in the UK.

Clean Up Britain has announced that it is launching a 12-month pilot programme in an unnamed city in the UK, before the initiative is scaled up across the country in subsequent years. Under the scheme, funded by tobacco firm Philip Morris with a seven-figure sum, council enforcement officers who catch people littering cigarette ends and issue them with a fine of up to £150 will give them the option of watching a 90 second video in order to request a discount off their fine.

It comes after the Government's 2017 litter strategy said that "tobacco product manufacturers and associated trade bodies need to think about ways to address the issue of smoking-related litter".

An estimated 35 billion cigarettes are sold to the UK's seven million smokers in Britain every year. Seven in 10 cigarette butts are thrown away on the street. Each takes 15 years to biodegrade.

Source: The Telegraph, 31 January 2021

Editorial note: Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC and its guidelines states that “Parties should not accept, support or endorse partnerships and non-binding or non-enforceable agreements as well as any voluntary arrangement with the tobacco industry or any entity or person working to further its interests.” This also includes all public authorities including local government. For more information s
ee WHO FCTC ([link removed]) and Article 5.3 Guidelines ([link removed]) .
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Read Article ([link removed])


** International
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Tobacco multinationals in Nigeria use intermediaries to ”clean their image and grow their businesses”, thereby undermining the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a new report has shown.

The report, titled ‘The Big Tobacco Allies – How tobacco companies use intermediaries to foster their corporate social responsibility initiatives and promote their image in Nigeria’, was presented to journalists on Friday 29th January 2021 in Lagos.

The report, drawing from surveys carried out by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) across Nigeria with support from the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), exposes how tobacco multinationals undertake partnerships with the Nigerian government and how several government entities organise events and implement programmes promoting tobacco industry initiatives.

It also documents how tobacco companies use front groups to improve their image, promoting social development work, educational initiatives, and environmental projects which mask the harm done by tobacco companies.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA’s Executive Director, said that “the law forbids the kind of interaction that this report has unveiled. Both national and subnational agencies have found themselves in situations where they have flouted the law. We’re using this report to tell the tobacco industry that we are watching.”

Source: Premium Times, 29 January 2021
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On 15^th February 2021, the Western Cape high court will hear Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s application to appeal the court’s December ruling which declared last year’s national five-month tobacco sales ban unconstitutional.

The December ruling was the result of an appeal by British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) which found that the ban put in place by the South African government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic contravened smokers’ constitutional rights.

Dlamini-Zuma’s counter-appeal comes amidst soaring COVID-19 infections in a second wave of the pandemic across South Africa. Dlamini-Zuma’s office insists that she is not seeking a fresh ban but instead is seeking clarity on the powers conferred by the Disaster Management Act on the government to impose special measures in response to COVID-19.

The case hinges on whether a temporary ban on tobacco sales is necessary to prevent significant harm – in this case the strain smokers with COVID-19 would place on the burdened healthcare system. Dlamini-Zuma argues that it is, whilst BATSA argues that it is not.
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Source: Mail & Guardian, 29 January 2021
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Robust telephone counselling programs, used alongside the provision of smoking cessation medication, can improve smoking abstinence rates in patients with cancer, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by the Massachusetts Hospital and Harvard Medical School and published in the journal JAMA, randomly divided 303 participants – all undergoing treatment for cancer and self-reported smokers of at least 1 cigarette in the past 30 days – into two groups: a standard treatment group and an intensive treatment group.

Patients in the standard treatment group were offered 4 weekly telephone counselling sessions in addition to recommendations made by certified tobacco treatment counsellors on what medications participants should use, involving a decision aid specifically designed for patients with cancer.

Patients in the intensive treatment group received the standard treatment plus 4 biweekly telephone sessions delivered over 2 months and 3 telephone booster sessions delivered monthly as well as a 12-week supply of a smoking cessation medication of their choice.

Researchers determined abstinence by measuring 7-day abstinence after 6-months using a saliva collection kit or a carbon monoxide sample. They found that just over one-fifth (21.5%) of patients in the standard treatment group were abstinent, compared to approximately one-third (34.5%) of the patients in the intensive treatment group. Patients in the intensive treatment group also completed more sessions on average than their counterparts in the standard treatment group and were more likely to use cessation medication.

However, a substantial number of patients in both groups relapsed after a further 6 months, with the rate of sustained abstinence 23.6% in the intensive treatment group and 12.6% in the standard treatment group.

Researchers concluded that completing a greater number of counselling sessions led to an increase in quit success as well as higher patient satisfaction, with 85% of participants in the intensive treatment group stating that the programme met all or most of their needs versus 59.3% in the standard treatment group.

Source: Clinical Advisor, January 29 2021
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** See also: JAMA - Effect of Sustained Smoking Cessation Counseling and Provision of Medication vs Shorter-term Counseling and Medication Advice on Smoking Abstinence in Patients Recently Diagnosed With Cancer ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


**

The European Union is “not fit for purpose” in the task of reducing poverty in Europe and Brexit risks exacerbating the problem, the UN’s special envoy on human rights has said after a two-month investigation. Prof Olivier De Schutter, who was given access to senior officials across the bloc’s institutions, said the EU’s “constitutional framework” was driving a race to the bottom in corporation and income tax and salary levels.

A lack of harmonisation on those issues, coupled with the 1997 stability and growth pact that imposes ceilings of 3% a year in national budget deficits and 60% of GDP on public debt, were major constraints on progress, he said.

De Schutter added that Brexit risks exacerbating the problem as the UK seeks to find a competitive advantage over the 27 member states of the EU. The UK’s departure could weaken the ability of European governments to resist pressure to reduce taxation levels to those equitable to the UK’s new taxation regime.

Although there are “good intentions” within the bloc’s institutions, the EU does not currently have a target for reducing poverty within its 27 member states, according to De Schutter. The previous target of taking 20 million people out of poverty by 2020 was missed by 8.7m people. De Schutter stated that the bloc’s new €750bn coronavirus recovery fund does not focus sufficiently on poverty reduction. ‘’Consultations with social partners were reduced to a minimum. And very often people in poverty were not involved. So the priorities were set based on a technocratic assessment of what needs to be done not on the sound assessment of the social need’’.

Source: The Guardian, January 29 2021
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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.

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