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Smoking has probably killed more people than Covid in the same time period and places a severe strain on hospital services, Prof Chris Whitty has said. In a lecture on the future of health trends, the chief medical officer said “a small number of companies” were killing people for profit.
Professor Whitty said almost no progress was being made in fighting lung cancer and that smoking-related diseases killed around 90,000 people each year – more than the pandemic. He said most of those deaths were avoidable.
He said: “Lung cancer is now the UK’s number one killer in cancer. Almost one in five people will die from this. People like me get very concerned and upset about this cancer because it is almost entirely caused for profit. The great majority of people who die of this cancer die so that a small number of companies make profits from the people who have become addicted at young ages and then keep addicted to something they know will kill them.
“Smoking is something that is one of the biggest causes of a very large number of diseases, of which lung cancer is only one, and the standard estimates are that over 90,000 deaths occur every year. So, in this year and the last year, it is likely that by the end of last year, at least as many and probably more people will have died of smoking-related disease than of Covid. It also has a very significant impact on hospitalisation as a result.”
Source: The Telegraph, 20 May 2021
See also: Daily Mail - Professor Chris Whitty attacks 'kill for profit' tobacco companies and warns smoking killed 90,000 Brits last year - more than Covid
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A new report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) recommends that all smokers be provided with opt-out smoking cessation treatment by the NHS. Introducing an “opt-out smoking cessation services to all smokers at any point of contact with the NHS” would double the uptake of services.
In its report, the RCP called for several measures to be brought in, including pregnant women to be given financial incentives to quit and a tax increase that would “double the price of cigarettes over a five-year period.” These should be combined with other stop smoking measures, such as nicotine replacement therapy and advice on e-cigarettes, currently not prescribed on the NHS.
They also urged the Government to introduce better regulation of film and television to ensure that children are not exposed to tobacco images. This would include a 9pm watershed and 18 certificates applied to TV programmes and films that feature tobacco.
Professor John Britton, the RCP tobacco advisory group member, said: “Smoking is entirely preventable, but ending smoking requires us to go even further with the more familiar prevention measures, such as tax and providing help for smokers to quit, but also tackling some of the causes that have not yet been addressed - and particularly the exposure of children to tobacco imagery in film, television and other media. Doing this will prevent countless deaths, dramatically reduce the burden placed by tobacco use on health services and wider society, substantially reduce inequalities in health and, by alleviating poverty and improving health, contribute significantly to the levelling up of our society.”
Dr Nick Hopkinson, the RCP tobacco advisory group member, said: “Support to quit smoking is one of the most effective and highest value treatments that the healthcare system can deliver, but many smokers are missing out on this. Developing a universal offer through the NHS so that every smoker receives this support unless they actively opt-out, has to be a priority.”
Source: Daily Mail, 20 May 2021
See also: The Packet – Smokers should be helped to quit unless they opt-out, doctors say
RCP report - Smoking and health 2021: A coming of age for tobacco control?
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A new report by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) finds that almost half of district councils reported a rise in the need to mediate with landlords to support tenancies despite the evictions ban introduced in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report finds that nine in ten districts saw increases in the use of food banks in their local area. About 87% of councils expect sharp increases in homelessness when some emergency measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic are withdrawn.
The furlough scheme and Universal Credit uplift are both scheduled to finish at the end of September, and there are fears that when the ban on bailiff-enforced evictions is lifted at the end of this month, this will spark a new wave of homelessness.
To help prevent a surge in rough sleepers, councils were this week given a further £203 million from the government’s rough sleeping initiative fund, which is part of the £750 million investment the government has pledged this year to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. The funding will provide 14,500-bed spaces and 2,700 support staff.
The government claims that its rough sleeping initiative has reduced rough sleeping by almost a third compared to areas that have not taken part in the programme. But DCN is warning the government to “retreat carefully” from the significant interventions it has made to protect people during the crisis. It is calling on the government to retain the increase in the local housing allowance so that “benefits can keep people in their homes.”
DCN is also calling for a “flexible prevention pot” for districts to work locally to solve problems and help people experiencing hardship and debt, and a “careful phasing out” of the job retention scheme for different sectors over different periods, “protecting people in the hardest hit sectors for longer.”
It also says that in two-tier areas, all future funding for addressing hardship, poverty and homelessness should be channelled through district councils, which have the “on-the-ground expertise, knowledge and direct connections with households” to “quickly get help to those on the breadline.”
Source: Local Government Chronicle, 19 May 2021
See also: DCN - Building back better – leaving no-one behind
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ASH New Zealand has welcomed the Government’s Budget, which sees a significant increase of $36.6 million over four years in resourcing for smokefree initiatives.
This funding increase is consistent with the Government’s proposals for the Smokefree 2025 plan. The funding will be directed to health promotion, social media campaigns, and support for community-led efforts to support smokers to quit and transitioning those who smoke to less harmful alternatives, like vaping.
ASH New Zealand director, Deborah Hart, said: “We are absolutely delighted with this new funding, which underlines the Government’s commitment to the Smokefree 2025 goal. Because of the looming deadline for the goal, 60,000 smokers need to quit every year, up from the 20,000 currently quitting. Helping Māori, Pacific and poor people to quit will make a huge impact in reducing inequality as well as ensuring we meet the Smokefree 2025 goal.”
Source: Scoop, 19 May 2021
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The proportion of smokers in China who want to quit is “the second-lowest” among 31 countries with high numbers of heavy smokers, tobacco control experts said at an anti-smoking advocacy event in Beijing on Tuesday, 19 May 2021.
According to a survey on Chinese adults in 2018, the overall and daily smoking cessation rates in China were 20.1% and 15.6%, respectively. Only 16.1% of smokers said they planned to quit within 12 months, and those who were going to stop within 30 days accounted for merely 5.6%.
According to a Healthy China Promotion Committee document under the State Council, China set goals to keep its smoking rate among people above 15 years old under 24.5% by 2022 and 20% by 2030.
To achieve the goals, tobacco control advocates suggested the government improve its smoking cessation service system and include smoking cessation drugs into the health insurance program.
Source: Global Times, 19 May 2021
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