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** 09 February 2021
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** UK
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Opinion: Why Government is ‘taking back control’ of the NHS (#1) - Richard Sloggett, Health Service Journal (#1)


** New Carbon Taxes: Meat, cheese and gas heating prices to rise (#2)
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** International
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** Japan: (#3) Japan Tobacco warns of profit decline, to slash jobs and focus on heat sticks (#3)
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** Myanmar: Singaporean tobacco investor exits Myanmar after coup (#4)
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** Pakistan: Government urged to increased and expand excise duty on tobacco products (#5)
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** UK
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There are at least five factors behind the government’s move to take on more legislative power over the NHS, revealed by a leaked white paper, writes Richard Sloggett, former special adviser to Matt Hancock and Senior Fellow in Health and Social Care at thinktank Policy Exchange, in the Health Service Journal.

The first factor is political risk. Having made health such a central plank of their election agenda in 2019, the government knows that public concern about the NHS, particularly waiting lists, are of huge political risk. Ministers have become increasingly frustrated that they currently take all the blame when things go wrong, whilst the NHS takes credit for any good news stories. If ministers are to be responsible if the NHS fails to deliver, they want to take a more active role in the recovery effort.

The second factor is prioritization. As things stand NHS providers recognise various priorities for the NHS: the long-term plan, the Conservative manifesto, and COVID-19. The government wants the Conservative manifesto delivered above all else, and the proposed bill is designed to make this clear.

The third factor is practicalities. With greater concentration of power and public money within NHS England, and with the purchaser-provider split disappearing, a stronger set of oversight powers are felt to be needed to ensure that increasing taxpayer funds are being spent effectively and efficiently. Ministers feel that the current levers of annual mandate, the NHS board and outcomes framework, are not strong enough.

The fourth factor is political management. NHS England has felt difficult and remote to backbench parliamentarians since its creation, and bringing greater direction setting powers to ministers including oversight of difficult local configurations of services is designed to address this issue.

The fifth factor is access to data and information. The leaked white paper is littered with such references, and it is hoped that the new power will make it easier for the government to access information about the NHS that it requests in order to play an effective oversight role.
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Source: Health Service Journal, 8 February 2021
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Boris Johnson is drawing up plans to apply a ‘’polluter pays’’ principle to all sectors of the economy which produce carbon emissions as part of a drive to achieve his net-zero carbon pledge. The prime minister has ordered every government department to produce a ‘’price’’ for carbon emissions across all areas of the economy.

The measures form part of the carbon reduction blueprint that the prime minister is expected to announce in the run-up to Cop26, the United Nations’ climate change conference being hosted by Britain in Glasgow in November. At present only heavy industry, power generators and airlines are charged for their carbon emissions.

One source close to the government’s thinking said that Britain’s plans could be used to persuade other countries to follow suit as part of the international move towards net zero. The EU has already raised the prospect of introducing a carbon border adjustment that would levy charges on products from countries that do not impose penalties for emissions.

Editorial note:

The ‘’polluter pays’’ proposal has already been advocated by ASH and other leading health charities for tobacco control. For more information, see the Smokefree Action Coalition’s Roadmap to a Smokefree 2030, which calls for the implementation of a polluter pays Smokefree 2030 Fund: [link removed]

Source: The Times, 4 February 2021
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** International
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Japan Tobacco Inc (JT) said on Tuesday 9th February that it planned to cut around 1000 jobs and focus its efforts on winning market share in heated tobacco devices, as it forecasts an unexpected slump in profit this year.

The company said it expects 2021 operating profit to fall 23% to 363 billion yen (£2.52 billion), compared with the market’s forecast for a slight recovery to 476 billion yen (£3.3 billion), according to Refinitiv data.

JT commands half of the domestic Japanese cigarette market but has not had the success of Philip Morris in the increasingly popular heat-not-burn (HNB) category. It will offer 1000 staff members voluntary and early retirement packages whilst bolstering investment in what it calls its ‘’reduced risk products’’ including its own heated tobacco products.

The company is launching a new heated tobacco device this year as it tries to compete with Philip Morris' IQOS for the market.
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Source: Reuters, 9 February 2021

See also: Reuters - Japan Tobacco to launch new heated tobacco device later this year ([link removed])
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Singapore based investor Lim Kaling has declared his intention to sell his stake in Myanmar’s leading cigarette producer following the military coup that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. Lim said in a statement that he had been monitoring recent events with “grave concern” and was now “exploring options for the responsible disposal of this stake”.

Lim, who is chairman of a 100-year-old family business, has a one-third stake in a joint venture that owns Rothmans Myanmar Holdings Singapore. RMHS owns 49% of Virginia Tobacco Co, the maker of popular cigarette brands in Myanmar. The cigarette producer’s majority shareholder is MEHL, an opaque holding company with diverse interests that is directed and owned by serving and retired military personnel, according to Amnesty International.

Myanmar has been gripped by three days of nationwide protests, with tens of thousands of people gathering to demand Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and the restoration of democracy.

Source: Financial Times, 9 February 2021
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Tobacco control groups are urging the Pakistani government to increase and expand Federal Excise Duty (FED) on tobacco products, extending the tax beyond cigarettes to also include other tobacco products.

There are currently two taxes on cigarettes in Pakistan, covering cigarette packets costing less than Rs90 (£0.41) and those costing more than Rs90. Tobacco control groups are recommending an increase of at least 30% in FED for each tax bracket.

Current excise levels are well below the standards set by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Pakistan is a signatory since 2005, which require signatories to impose a 75% tax on the retail price of cigarette packets.

The prices of cigarettes in Pakistan have risen since June 2019, which has been used by the tobacco industry as justification for not increasing tax in 2020, despite the fact that the price rise has only served to increase the tobacco industry’s profit.

Abid Sulehri, executive director Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SDPI), pointed out that the total economic cost of smoking in Pakistan was Rs143 billion (£650 million) in 2012, including costs to healthcare and in lost economic productivity.

Source: International: The News, 9 February 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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