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** 25 February 2021
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** UK
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** On-the-spot fines to crack down on illicit tobacco (#1)
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** UK Treasury to control 'levelling up' cash for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (#2)
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** International
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** US: New report details tobacco industry's predatory marketing of menthol cigarettes to Black Americans and the devastating health impact (#3)
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** Study: Children exposed to tobacco smoke could be at higher risk for blood pressure (#4)
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** Study: Daily emails about chemicals in tobacco lead some smokers to consider quitting (#5)
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** UK
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** Stores selling illegal cigarettes could be given on-the-spot fines, following new proposals set to give Trading Standards more powers. The news comes after the close of a HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) 12-week consultation on 23rd February which considered new sanctions linked to the UK’s tobacco track-and trace system, and the extension of HMRC’s traceability enforcement powers to Trading Standards officers.

In May 2019, HMRC introduced new track-and-trace legislation, meaning businesses involved in the supply of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco must have an economic operator identifier code (EOID). Proposals submitted to the consultation involve giving Trading Standards the power to issue instant fines to retailers on the spot for selling tobacco without an EOID. This would remove the need to go to court as retailers would have their right to sell tobacco instantly suspended or revoked.

It is suspected that any new measures considered will be subject to another consultation specifically on them in the summer. Subject to the outcome, the government has said it will propose legislation in the Finance Bill 2021-2022.

Source: Better Retailing, 24 February 2021
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** UK Treasury to control 'levelling up' cash for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (#2)
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** The Treasury has announced that a £4.8bn "levelling up fund" for local projects will now be UK-wide, not England only, meaning that UK ministers will now decide on how some of the cash is spent in the devolved nations.

The UK government had announced last year that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would get £800m each to spend, but the Treasury has now decided to run the fund for all four UK nations rather than hand the extra cash over to the devolved governments.

The announcement prompted angry responses from governments in the devolved nations. The Welsh Government accused the Westminster government of "aggressively" undermining devolution whilst the SNP in Westminster accused the Conservatives of wanting to dismantle devolution.

The UK government responded by emphasising the importance of the cash to the levelling up agenda, with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Barclay saying that communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would benefit from "at least £800m" of investment for town centre and high street regeneration, local transport, cultural and heritage projects.

Source: BBC News, 24 February 2021
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** International
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** US: New report details tobacco industry's predatory marketing of menthol cigarettes to Black Americans and the devastating health impact (#3)

A new report released on the 24th February 2021 has uncovered the tobacco industry’s decade-long aggressive marketing of menthol cigarettes to Black American communities, especially kids. The report demonstrates that tobacco industry targeting is a major reason why tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death among Black Americans and Black Americans die at disproportionately high rates from tobacco-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The report – titled Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives – was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; the Association of Black Cardiologists; the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council; Black Women’s Health Imperative; the Center for Black Health & Equity; the NAACP; the National Black Nurses Association; the National Medical Association; the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc.; Save a Girl, Save a World; and The Links, Incorporated.

It found that for more than 60 years, the tobacco industry has pervasively marketed menthol cigarettes to the Black American community, especially youth, through magazine advertising, sponsorship of community and music events, free samples of cigarettes, retail promotions, and other tactics. Menthol cigarettes continue to be heavily advertised, widely available and priced cheaper in Black communities, making them especially appealing to price-sensitive youth. In the 1950s, less than 10% of Black smokers used menthol cigarettes. Today, that number is 85%.

The tobacco industry is now using the same strategies to target Black youth with marketing for cheap, flavoured cigars, some of which can be smoked like cigarettes. In 2020, cigars were the most commonly used tobacco product among Black high school students.

The report calls for more action following measures already implemented at federal, state, and local levels. Federally, several public health and medical organizations have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to compel it to act on its own conclusions and those of its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee that prohibiting menthol cigarettes would benefit public health in the United States. The FDA has told the court (the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) that it will issue a decision by April 29, 2021.

At the state and local level, two states – Massachusetts and California – and at least 120 localities have passed laws ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavoured tobacco products (California’s law is on hold because the tobacco industry is seeking to overturn it through a referendum). In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2020 passed legislation to prohibit menthol cigarettes and other flavoured tobacco products.

Source: Tobacco Free Kids, 24 February 2021

See also:

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** Report - Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives: Ending Big Tobacco's Predatory Marketing to Black Communities ([link removed])
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** Expose Tobacco - Racism and Big Tobacco: Then and Now ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Study: Children exposed to tobacco smoke could be at higher risk for blood pressure (#3)

A new study has found that children who are exposed to tobacco smoke have a greater chance of having high blood pressure. The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday 23rd February 2021, found that 6% of children who were exposed to tobacco smoke had high blood pressure compared to 4% of children who were not exposed.

The study utilised data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2016, which measured tobacco exposure as either a child reporting smoking, living with a smoker, or having serum cotinine levels, a measurement for recent nicotine exposure, at above 0.05 micrograms per litre.

Of the 8,520 children of ages 8-19 who were surveyed, 3,690 (43%) had been exposed to tobacco smoke. The study also measured for elevated as well as high blood pressure, defined as levels greater than the 90th percentile for a child’s age, sex and height percentiles (versus 95th percentile for high blood pressure), and found that 16% of children who were exposed to tobacco smoke had elevated blood pressure compared to 11% of children who were not exposed.

Dr. Rebecca Levy, a research fellow in adult and pediatric nephrology at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, noted that children who are around parents and adults who smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves. High blood pressure could also be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other illness later in life.

Source: CNN, 25 February 2021

See also: JAMA - Analysis of Active and Passive Tobacco Exposures and Blood Pressure in US Children and Adolescents ([link removed])
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** Study: Daily emails about chemicals in tobacco lead some smokers to consider quitting (#3)

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published in the journal JAMA, found that smokers who see messages about tobacco chemicals with associated health risks, together with graphic health images and information promoting quitting, on average express greater desire to quit smoking. The research found that smokers’ intentions to quit smoking increased by almost 10% after being exposed to such messaging.

The researchers enrolled 789 adults in a randomized control, longitudinal study which tested three conditions– two experimental and one the control — with messages on chemicals in cigarettes sent to participants for 15 consecutive days. The first message included a graphic image of a person with a health issue, information on a chemical in the tobacco, a related health problem, a toll-free quit line and the FDA logo. The second included a graphic image of person with a health issue and a tobacco constituent message but not an FDA logo or any quit line information. The third, the study control, included only an image of cigarette butt litter and a message reminding people not to litter.

Smokers’ quit intentions were assessed on the 16th day and then again on the 32nd day. The researchers also tracked the number of cigarettes a person smoked as well as chose not to smoke or put out before it was finished because the person wanted to smoke less.

The researchers found no significant differences in response to the two experimental messages, suggesting that featuring a tobacco constituent message and image were sufficient to increase smokers’ intentions to quit. However, quit intentions were higher and cigarettes smoked fewer as the number of messages viewed increased.

Source: Scienmag, 24 February 2021

See also: JAMA - Effect of Cigarette Constituent Messages With Engagement Text on Intention to Quit Smoking Among Adults Who Smoke: A Randomized Clinical Trial ([link removed])
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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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