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** 22 March 2021
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** UK
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** Charities call for action over preventable deaths from respiratory conditions (#1)
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** Survey for the Scottish Grocers' Federation finds lack of support for further restrictions on sale of e-cigarettes (#2)
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** Nine in 10 councils in England see rise in people using food banks (#3)
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** International
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** Higher smoking prevalence among people with HIV in almost all world regions (#4)
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** China mulls bringing e-cigarette regulation in line with traditional tobacco products (#5)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary questions (#6)
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** UK
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**
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** Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Wales, and ASH Wales have called on the Welsh Government to set out a plan to tackle increasing levels of preventable deaths in Wales’ poorest areas from respiratory conditions linked to smoking and air pollution.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics published last week found that in 2019 people living in the most deprived areas of Wales were twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than those in the least deprived areas. Overall, both men (39.4% compared to 18.9%) and women (27.6% to 12.4%) were more than twice as likely to die due to a condition which is treatable or preventable through public health interventions if they lived in an area of high socio-economic deprivation.

Respiratory diseases were a major cause of these deaths with avoidable mortality rates for diseases of the respiratory system in the most deprived areas of Wales 5.5 times higher for men and 5.7 times higher for women compared to the least deprived areas. In response both charities are now urging the Welsh Government and all political parties to set out a framework for tackling these health inequalities by reducing smoking and levels of air pollution.

Source: Wales247, 22 March 2021
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**
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** New research for the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) suggests fewer than a quarter (24%) of Scottish people want restrictions to be brought in on the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products.

A further 24% said that they ‘strongly disagreed’ with more restrictions with another 24% ‘tending to disagree’. Almost two thirds (63%) of those questioned agreed that vaping is “definitely less harmful” than smoking, with only 15% disagreeing with this. According to the research, 66% of 16-to-24-year-olds were opposed to restrictions.

The research, conducted by the Diffley Partnership, asked more than 2,500 people for their views on smoking and vaping, with just under half of those surveyed being current or ex-smokers and around one in six current or former users of e-cigarettes.

The SGF says that greater use of e-cigarettes is one way that the Scottish Government can meet its “tobacco-free generation” target – with only 5% of the adult population smoking by 2034.

Source: STV News, 22 March 2021

Editorial note: The Scottish Grocer’s Federation (SGF) membership includes Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco. For more information, see TobaccoTactics ([link removed]) .

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** New research has revealed that there has been a rise in the use of food banks and an increase in family disputes requiring mediation across most of England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most local councils have also reported increased numbers of people needing help for homelessness.

More than nine in 10 district councils, which represent cities, towns, and urban areas across England, have reported an increase in food bank use in the past year. In Bradford, for example, three times as much food was distributed from 21 sites during the peak of the demand, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Two-thirds reported an increase in mediations in family breakdowns.

Many also saw a rise in demand for help in dealing with disputes between landlords and tenants, according to a survey by the District Councils’ Network (DCN). This has prompted concerns that the evictions ban, put in place during the pandemic and recently extended, is not giving vulnerable households complete protection. Senior figures across local authorities are worried that a further crisis in rough sleeping will emerge when the eviction ban ends at the end of May.

Nearly three-quarters of councils anticipate a rise in rough sleeping, and almost nine in 10 districts expect an increase in homelessness. During 2020-21, 85% of English councils said they had seen an increase in claims from homeless households for temporary accommodation, while almost all councils (93%) had seen an increase in demand for help with paying council tax.

Source: The Guardian, 22 March 2021
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** International
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**
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** New findings of a global meta-analysis published in AIDS has found that people living with HIV are approximately two-thirds more likely to be current tobacco smokers than HIV-negative individuals. Elevated smoking prevalence was observed in both men and women with HIV and in all world regions except the Western Pacific.

The high prevalence of smoking is a major reason why, despite major advances in treatment and care, the overall life expectancy of people with HIV still lags behind that of their HIV-negative peers.

The research conducted by Dr Peter Johnston and colleagues at the Universities of Sheffield and Nottingham only included observational studies comparing current smoking rates according to HIV status. Research including people with HIV but focusing on smoking-related disease was excluded. Smoking methods included cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and hookah but did not include e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and snuff. A total of 37 eligible studies conducted between 1990 and 2018 were identified, including a little over 111,000 people with HIV and just under 11 million people without HIV. Of these, 38,336 people with HIV (18,241 male, 18,095 female) and 709,358 HIV-negative individuals (298,334 male, 411,024 female) were current smokers.

Source: Aids Map, 22 March 2021

See also: AIDS - Worldwide relative smoking prevalence among people living with and without HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis ([link removed])
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** The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, two of China’s regulators, plan to bring the rules governing the sale of e-cigarettes and new tobacco products in line with those for ordinary cigarettes.

In 2019, a string of Chinese e-cigarette companies emerged targeting the domestic market, following the overseas success of Juul. The most successful among them, RLX Technology Inc, raised $1.4 billion in an IPO in January that valued the company at $35 billion.

China’s tobacco industry is controlled entirely via a government monopoly, and strict controls determine what companies and retailers can produce and sell cigarettes. Cigarette sales generated 5.45% of China’s overall tax revenue in 2018 and so industry experts have long expected the state to intervene.

Source: Reuters, 22 March 2021
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** Parliamentary Activity
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**
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** Tobacco: Health Hazards

Asked by Viscount Ridley

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to request that the Committee on Toxicity undertakes a toxicological evaluation of (1) snus, (2) non-tobacco oral nicotine pouches, and (3) smokeless tobacco products used primarily by South Asian communities in the UK.

Answered by By Lord Bethell (Conservative, Excepted Hereditary)

The Department is considering whether the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) should undertake an evaluation of non-tobacco oral nicotine pouches in its work programme in the next financial year. Oral tobacco products are banned under Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 and consequently there are no current plans to ask COT to evaluate such products. COT will not consider smokeless tobacco products because their dangers and harms are well documented in the existing evidence base.

Source: Hansard, 19 March 2021
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** Oral Tobacco

Asked by Viscount Ridley

To ask Her Majesty's Government which scientific research they used to inform their decision on whether to maintain the ban on snus.

Answered by By Lord Bethell (Conservative, Excepted Hereditary)

Oral tobacco products such as snus were banned in the United Kingdom under The Tobacco for Oral Use (Safety) Regulations 1992, which implemented European Union Directive 92/41. This ban has been confirmed in subsequent regulations, most recently by the EU Tobacco Products Directive 14/40, which has been transposed into UK law in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulation 2016 (TRPR). The European Commission set out the evidence underpinning the ban in the Tobacco Products Directive's impact assessment and in previous Directives. A copy of the impact assessment is attached.

The Department is currently undertaking a post-implementation review of the TRPR and this includes a public consultation that closes on 19 March 2021. The Department will review the evidence submitted to consider if the regulations have met their objectives or if any future regulatory changes should be considered.

Source: Hansard, 19 March 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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