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** 19 March 2021
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** UK
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** Ethnic minorities in England less likely to report using e-cigarettes to reduce smoking (#2)
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** Brexit: Some tobacco products withdrawn from NI market (#1)
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** International
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** Tobacco companies alleged to be involved in illicit trade in Burkina Faso and Mali (#3)
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** Switzerland debating implementation of tougher tobacco laws (#4)
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** Link of the week
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** Webinar: Effective behavioural support in 2021 and beyond (#5)
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** UK
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** A new report published today, 19th March 2021, in the journal Addiction has found that it is less common for smokers of Asian, Arab, and other ethnicities to use e-cigarettes to try to reduce their cigarette consumption or when they are not allowed to smoke than those of White ethnicity.

The report drew on monthly household survey data from UCL’s Smoking Toolkit Study from April 2013 to September 2019 with participants who were current smokers self-reporting their ethnicity and their use of e-cigarettes in the above instances.

Overall, 18% of current smokers surveyed reported using e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy for cutting down and temporary abstinence. Within this group, the use of e-cigarettes was 26% lower among smokers of Asian ethnicity and 49% lower among those of Arab or other ethnicities compared with those of White ethnicity.

However, the study did find that the use of nicotine replacement therapy was 42% higher amongst people of mixed and multiple ethnicity compared with those of White ethnicity.

The findings are significant as ethnic minorities in England appear to be at higher risk of smoking-related diseases and NICE guidance says that reducing smoking prevalence could reduce those health inequalities by more than any other measure.

Source: Eurek Alert, 18 March 2021

See also: Addiction - Differences between ethnic groups in self-reported use of e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy for cutting down and temporary abstinence: a cross-sectional population-level survey in England ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


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** Cigarette companies JTI and Imperial Tobacco have decided to ‘’delist’’ their less popular products in Northern Ireland following changes to regulations because of Brexit and the NI Protocol.

Different packaging rules for goods sold in the EU and Great Britain mean that products in Northern Ireland must carry an EU warning, which is different from the rest of the UK. JTI and Imperial Tobacco have said that it would be too expensive for them to put separate pictorial health warnings on packs.

All the major cigarette brands will still be available, but variations like certain sizes of tobacco pouches and some cigar packs will disappear. Disappearing products include those from cigarette brands such as Silk Cut, Benson & Hedges, Condor tobacco, Richmond, JPS Superkings, and Lambert & Butler.

Source: BBC News, 19 March 2021
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Read Article ([link removed])


** International
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** Two troubling recent investigations from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed new information about the tobacco industry’s complicity in tobacco smuggling in Africa. According to the first report, Philip Morris International (PMI)’s representative in Burkina Faso has made millions from smuggling Philip Morris’ cigarettes through West Africa and supplied illicit tobacco to militants. According to the second report, British American Tobacco (BAT) fuels illicit trade in Mali, lies about the taxes it pays, and helps to fund insurgent groups.

The first report found that PMI still employs Apollinaire Compaoré, owner of the SODICOM, sole distributor of tobacco products in Burkina Faso, and a man the UN has explicitly identified as a tobacco smuggler. Another of Compaoré’s companies, SOBUREX, has been implicated in smuggling PMI products illegally in three countries and both SOBUREX and SODICOM are registered with Burkina Faso’s Chamber of Commerce but do not, according to the report, appear to have paid any taxes.

The second report, collated from leaked internal documents, trade data, and on-the-ground interviews with insurgents, industry insiders and ex-BAT employees, alleges that BAT has oversupplied Mali with clean-labelled cigarettes, knowing that militant groups profit from illicit trade. The report alleges that there may be up to 4.7 billion surplus cigarettes in Mali every year. Through a network of informants, BAT allegedly stays abreast of black-market activity in the country and openly discusses how best to exploit areas of conflict for financial gain in its internal memos.

According to local media reports, the customs body in Mali signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BAT in 2019 that formalised a mutually beneficial relationship. According to an internal document that OCCRP obtained, BAT not only funded customs raids—with employees of the tobacco company feeding officials intelligence to allow them to seize tobacco products manufactured by BAT’s competitors—but also equipped customs officials with new cars and patrol boats.

Source: Africa Times, 18 March 2021

See also:
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** OCCRP - Marlboro's Man: Philip Morris' Representative in Burkina Faso is a Known Cigarette Smuggler ([link removed])
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** OCCRP - British American Tobacco Fights Dirty in West Africa ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


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** The Swiss parliament is currently debating tightening restrictions on the advertising of tobacco products after a people’s initiative called for a radical advertising ban to protect children. New momentum for the law came from a 2018 people’s initiative: “Yes to protecting children and young people from tobacco advertising,” submitted with more than 100,000 signatures and supported by a broad alliance of health organisations.

Smoking remains the main cause of premature deaths in Switzerland with 27% of the population over the age of 15 smoking in Switzerland, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

Switzerland, home to the international headquarters of Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, is one of a small group of countries that have not ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The government reportedly does want substantial restrictions on tobacco advertising “to better protect young people from the dangers of tobacco”, recommending a tightening of the current Tobacco Products Law. If Switzerland implements the new measures, it will have met the minimum conditions for ratification of the WHO FCTC.

Source: Expatica, 18 March 2021
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Link of the week
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**
On Wednesday, 24th March 2021, 10:00 – 11:30, ASH is hosting a webinar to share findings from the Cochrane Review on effective behavioural interventions for smoking cessation ([link removed]) . The webinar will explore how behavioural support delivery has changed over the past year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can ensure behavioural support continues to be as effective as possible.

The agenda will cover:

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** Findings from the Cochrane Review of behavioural interventions for smoking cessation (Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, University of Oxford)
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** Stop smoking support delivery in 2020/21 (Robbie Titmarsh, ASH)
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** How do we maintain the quality of behavioural support? (Louise Ross and Dr Sophia Papadakis, NCSCT)
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** Local case studies (Bath and North East Somerset, Yorkshire Smokefree Sheffield, Essex County Council)
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** Q&A
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You can find a detailed agenda here. ([link removed])
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Register for Webinar ([link removed])
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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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