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** 12 May 2021
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** UK
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** Junk food ads to be banned online and before 9pm on television (#1)
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** New law to dissolve CCGs and curtail the NHS internal market confirmed in Queen's Speech (#2)
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** International
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** Study reveals genes that cause loss of lung function in active smokers (#3)
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** Indianapolis Council votes to ban smoking at parks (#4)
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** UK
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** The Queen’s Speech has outlined measures to ban advertising unhealthy food online and on television before 9PM, to ban discount deals for junk food, and to put tight controls on the promotion of foods high in sugar, salt, and fat. Other measures include people being rewarded with shopping vouchers for losing weight and exercising more under a new ‘’fit miles’’ incentive scheme and restaurant chains being required to put calorie counts on menus.

Boris Johnson had been uncertain on a total ban on online advertising following protests from the industry and from advertisers who insisted that there was no evidence for such a move. However, he has now decided to implement the ban which limits food companies to making only factual claims about their products on their website such as price, ingredients, and nutritional content, and bans them from publishing sponsored social media influencing about cakes, sweets, burgers, and other unhealthy foods. Paid-for displays, web searches, and promotional emails and text messages will also be banned.

It is not yet clear whether all social media posts about unhealthy products will be banned. Government officials stressed that small independent producers would not be banned from tweeting about cakes and brownies, but such restrictions could apply to large companies. It is not clear how regulators will determine which foods come under the ban, with one option being to use a formula based on sugar, salt, and fat content. The Advertising Standards Authority would be responsible for all regulation.

Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance of charities and medical groups said the proposals were “very welcome news and show that the government is serious about putting our nation’s health first by effectively addressing the drivers of obesity”.

Source: The Times, 12 May 2021

See also: Obesity Health Alliance - Ending online junk food adverts will lead to UK children eating equivalent of 62 million fewer doughnuts every year - enough to fill 88 skips a week ([link removed])
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The Queen’s Speech has confirmed the Government’s commitment to bring in new health legislation during this Parliament as it was announced that radical changes to the Health and Social Care Bill 2012 will be laid before Parliament this year. The changes, first outlined in February, will put Integrated Care Systems on a statutory footing, dissolve clinical commissioning groups, reduce competition for contracts within the NHS, and give more powers to the health secretary over the health service.

The speech gave no new details but did say that such changes would mean “patients will receive more tailored and preventative care, closer to home [and will] empower the NHS to innovate and embrace technology”. The government’s executive summary, released after the Queen’s Speech, added that it will “give the NHS and local authorities the tools they need to level up health and care outcomes across the country, enabling healthier, longer and more independent lives”. It also said that the Government will respond to its Mental Health Act reforms ‘’later this year’’, though no date was given.

The executive summary also set out the intention to create a system that “allows staff to get on with their jobs” by “removing bureaucratic and transactional processes that do not add value”. However, there are growing concerns within the NHS that the new plans may not cut bureaucracy due to the increased number of integrated care boards, provider collaborative partnerships, and the need to manage new financial challenges associated with system-level planning.


Source: HSJ, 11 May 2021

See also: Queen's Speech Transcript ([link removed])
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** International
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A new study has identified a panel of genes that are active in smokers and ex-smokers who experience faster loss of lung function over time, paving the way for the earlier identification and treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is a disease that reduces lung function and causes difficulty breathing. Smoking is a leading cause of COPD which itself is the third leading cause of death worldwide.

Current treatments for COPD only affect symptoms not progression of the disease but this new research opens the possibility of predicting which people are most at risk. The research tested airway brushings, in which a small flexible camera is inserted through the nose or mouth to collect cells with brushes from the sides of airways, from 134 people who were current or former smokers. It was ppublished in the BMJ and conducted by researchers from Boston University.

The study found changes in the activity of specific genes in people that went on to have more rapid worsening of their lung function several years after that initial airway brushing. Some of the genes in these people were more active whilst some were less active. Researchers said that testing airways in this way could prove useful for further studies, as cigarette smoking causes similar changes to cells in the airways as to cells in the lungs, allowing cells in the airways to be used to detect diseases deep within the lungs.

Source: News Medical, 12 May 2021

See also: BMJ - Bronchial gene expression signature associated with rate of subsequent FEV1 decline in individuals with and at risk of COPD ([link removed])
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** Indianapolis City-County Council has voted by 18-6 to ban smoking at public parks owned or leased by the city or county. The bill’s author says that a ban has become more necessary given the visible increase in smoking in parks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and with more people going to parks for a safe activity. Councillor John Barth also noted the increased litter of tobacco products.

The ban is likely to go into effect before the July 4^th 2021 holiday and includes fines of $100 (£70) for a first offense and a court ticket and fine of $200 (£141) to $7,500 (£5,305) for subsequent violations.

Source: Indianapolis Recorder, 11 May 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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