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Illegal tobacco seized by Wolverhampton trading standards
Trading standards officers in Wolverhampton have seized up to 372,000 illegal cigarettes, 50kg of rolling tobacco and 12kg of chewing tobacco.
The haul would previously have been burned but will now be recycled into compost and damp-proof course as officers were keen to look for more environmentally friendly options to support Wolverhampton Council’s drive to become carbon-neutral by 2028.
Councillor Steve Evans, the cabinet member for the city environment, said: “We will not tolerate the sale of illegal goods in the city and our trading standards team works very hard to identify and clamp down on offenders and remove any stock.” Trading Standards officers also issued warning signs for smokers to look out for when buying cigarettes or tobacco.
Source: Talking Retail, 25 February 2021
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US Study: Menthol cigarettes attracted an extra 10 million US smokers
A new study published in the Journal of Tobacco Control reveals that menthol cigarettes recruited an extra 10 million smokers in the US between 1980 and 2018.
Menthol cigarettes were first created in 1926 but only became widely popular in the late ’50s and early ’60s. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to ban menthol in cigarettes, but it was never implemented.
To estimate the number of excess smokers and deaths attributed to menthol cigarettes, researchers used a simulation model of smoking prevalence and health effects to reproduce smoking rates and the associated deaths from 1980 to 2018, drawing on data from the National Health Interview Survey. The researchers then extrapolated those estimates using the same model but recasting the data as if menthol cigarettes had not been on the market during that time. They then compared the two data sets.
The calculations indicated that menthol cigarettes had been responsible for 10.1 million extra smokers (266,000 every year), 3 million cumulative years of life lost, and 378,000 premature deaths (9,900 every year) between 1980 and 2018. The study also found that menthol cigarettes were responsible for slowing down smoking prevalence decline by 2.6% points. It would have fallen from 33% in 1980 to 11% in 2018 in the absence of menthol cigarettes, compared with the observed 13.7% in 2018.
Although the study only addressed the US public, researchers say the findings may help the FDA regulate menthol products in the future and that other countries may follow suit.
Source: CTV News, 25 February 2021
See also: BMJ Tobacco Control - An estimation of the harm of menthol cigarettes in the United States from 1980 to 2018
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South Africa: Excise duties on alcohol and tobacco increase by 8%
Excise duties on tobacco and alcohol products in South Africa were raised by 8% in the budget review presented by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday 24th February.
According to the Treasury, the policy framework for both alcohol and tobacco will be reviewed in the current year. Taxes account for about 40% of the most popular tobacco brands’ retail price in South Africa, compared with the World Health Organization’s recommendation of at least 70%.
Source: Bloomberg, 24 February 2021
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Study: High smoking dependence linked to depression
A new study coordinated by the University of Helsinki in collaboration with the Universities of Wisconsin and Missouri USA, provides new information on the connection between depression and smoking dependence. The study focused on the different self-reported motivation factors for smoking.
The study was based on more than 1400 Finnish twins who were smokers and provided information on smoking and depression by responding to questionnaires. The unique twin study setting enabled the research team to rule out familial influences, including shared genetic vulnerability, by examining the association between depression and smoking dependence within twin pairs, especially within identical pairs.
The findings show that more dependent smokers were also more likely to be depressed. Of the different motives for smoking examined, the motives related to high levels of craving, automatic smoking behaviour and smoking to regulate emotional states were found to be the most strongly related to depression.
Even though this study provides new evidence about the relationship between smoking dependence and depression, the researchers highlight that this study design does not prove causality. “We could not show which happens first: smoking dependence or depression among daily smokers,” said Research director Professor Jaakko Kaprio from the University of Helsinki.
Source: Mirage News, 26 February 2021
See also: Journal Addiction – The associations of smoking dependence motives with depression among daily smokers.
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Ahead of No Smoking Day 2021 (Wednesday 10th March), ASH and Breathe 2025 with support from PHE Marketing, GM Health and Social Care Partnership and Fresh Smokefree North East have developed a No Smoking Day Communications Toolkit to support partners’ No Smoking Day activity.
No Smoking Day is an important opportunity to engage smokers in your local communities, encouraging them to quit and access local stop smoking support. This year's theme is “Quitting smoking doesn’t have to be stressful.”
The No Smoking Day 2021 Communications Toolkit includes:
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Information about the campaign content
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Campaign aims and key messages
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Links to assets to support local amplification work
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Templates for social media, emails, websites and local PR
On Wednesday 24 February, ASH hosted a webinar in advance of No Smoking Day.
The webinar covered:
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Evidence on the impact of quitting on mental health;
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Communications insights from smokers; and
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A run-through of No Smoking Day 2021 resources and assets.
The webinar was recorded and is available online.
No Smoking Day communications toolkit is available here.
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NHS Digital has published the April to September 2020 stop smoking returns figures. NHS Stop Smoking Services offer support to help people quit smoking. This report includes information on the number of people setting a quit date and the number who successfully quit at the 4-week follow-up. The results are provided at national, regional, and local authority levels.
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For more information call 020 7404 0242, email [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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