From Action on Smoking and Health <[email protected]>
Subject ASH Daily News for 28 May 2021
Date May 28, 2021 11:57 AM
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** 28 May 2021
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** UK
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** ASH calls on the government to consult on raising the age of sale to 21 (#1)
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** Study: Smoking during pregnancy associated with child’s risk of having congenital heart disease (#2)
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** International
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** The number of smokers has reached an all-time high of 1.1 billion, study finds (#3)
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** The risk of lung cancer increased almost 10-fold among Australians smoking as few as 1-5 cigarettes per day (#4)
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** Parliamenatry Activity
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** Parliamentary questions (#5)
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** Links of the Week
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** NHS Digital: Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England - April 2020 to December 2020 (#6)
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** Podcast: Let’s talk e-cigarettes (#7)
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** UK
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**
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** A leading health charity has called on the government to raise the age for tobacco sales to 21, a move it believes will save over a hundred thousand lives in the first year.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said a survey carried out with YouGov found increasing the age of sale from 18 to 21 had support from 63% of adults in England, with 54% of 18 to 24-year-olds backing the move. About 59% of 11 to 18-year-olds also supported it, while two-thirds of Conservative voters polled said they wanted the age of sale increased to 21.

ASH urged the government to consult on the move following a study in The Lancet that showed three-quarters of smokers globally have their first cigarette by 21. The charity also pointed to modelling by academics at University College London (UCL) that show that raising the age of sale to 21 would reduce the number of smokers by 30% from 364,000 to 255,000 in year one. With 18,000 new smokers prevented after the first year.

Robert West, emeritus professor at UCL, said:” Tobacco dependence is an addictive disorder that typically starts before the brain has matured, with the vast majority starting before the age of 21, and substantial uptake between 18 and 20. Our modelling shows that increasing the age of sale for tobacco to 21 will lead to an immediate and substantial decline in smoking prevalence among young adults, far greater than any other policy measure under consideration.”

ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said: “This powerful global study shows clearly that smoking is an addiction of youth. Raising the age of sale to 21 could protect more than a hundred thousand people from a lethal addiction which many will struggle their whole lives to quit. And that’s just in the first year. If we’re to achieve the government’s vision of a smoke-free country by 2030, this is the kind of bold action that’s needed.”

Source: P3 Pharmacy, 28 May 2021

See also: ASH Press Release - On World No Tobacco Day ASH calls on Government to do more to protect young people and consult on raising the age of sale to 21 ([link removed])
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** A new study has found that children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy were at increased risk of having congenital heart disease.

The study was led by the University of Bristol, in an international collaboration with researchers from seven institutions. It brings together data on more than 230,000 families from seven European birth cohorts from the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Italy, including the world-renowned Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol.

The study analysed associations between body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption on offspring congenital heart disease. Data on these characteristics were obtained through measurements of weight and height and questionnaires administered during early pregnancy when most of the cohorts began recruitment. The researchers were able to test the reliability of their findings by using an approach that compares the results from mothers and fathers to help discern whether the effects they see are ‘real’ or are as a result of other factors.

Findings from the study show that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have a child with congenital heart disease.

Professor Deborah Lawlor, British Heart Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Science and Clinical Epidemiology of the University of Bristol, who oversaw the study, said: “Smoking rates are declining but remain high in more deprived groups in the UK and other high-income countries and are promoted in low- and middle-income countries. These findings further highlight the need to support smoking cessation globally. Also, if we can work out exactly how maternal smoking increases the risk of congenital heart diseases, this could identify new ways of preventing these diseases even in the absence of smoking.”

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation and cardiologist, said: “Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for developing heart and circulatory disease. It is also the greatest cause of health inequality across Europe but supporting people to quit smoking is one of the most effective things we can do to reduce these inequalities. We need to make it easier for everyone to quit by offering them appropriate smoking cessation support and advice.”

Source: Telegraph and Argus, 27 May 2021

See also: JAMA - Effect of Maternal Prepregnancy/Early‐Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Pregnancy Smoking and Alcohol on Congenital Heart Diseases: A Parental Negative Control Study ([link removed])
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** International
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**
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** According to new research, smoking killed almost 8 million people in 2019, and 89% of new smokers were addicted by 25. The number of smokers worldwide increased to 1.1 billion in 2019, with tobacco smoking causing 7.7 million deaths – including one in five deaths in males worldwide. Researchers say the global number of smokers continues to rise and that governments need to focus on reducing the uptake of smoking among young people.

The research examined trends in 204 countries and was produced as part of the Global Burden of Disease consortium of researchers, which studies health issues that lead to death and disability. Researchers found that although the prevalence of smoking has reduced globally over the past three decades, it increased for men in 20 countries and women in 12. Ten countries made up two-thirds of the world’s smoking population: China, India, Indonesia, the US, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines. One in three current tobacco smokers (341 million) live in China, researchers found.

The study authors found that in 2019, smoking was associated with 1.7 million deaths from ischaemic heart disease and 1.6 million deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It was also associated with 1.3 million deaths from tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer and nearly one million deaths from stroke. Previous studies suggested that at least one in two long-term smokers will die from causes directly linked to smoking, and that smokers have an average life expectancy 10 years lower than never-smokers.

According to the study, half of all the countries had made no progress in stopping uptake among 15- to 24-year-olds and the average age for someone to start was 19 when it is legal in most places. Marissa Reitsma, the study’s lead author, said: “Ensuring that young people remain smoke-free through their mid-20s will result in radical reductions in smoking rates for the next generation.”

Despite 182 countries signing a 2005 convention on tobacco control, enforcing policies to reduce smoking had been varied. Researchers said taxation was the most effective policy. However, there was a significant discrepancy between the high cost of a packet of cigarettes in developed countries and significantly lower costs in low- and middle-income countries.

Vin Gupta, the study’s co-author, said there needed to be stronger commitment to tackling smoking. Gupta went on to say: “Despite progress in some countries, tobacco industry interference and waning political commitment have resulted in a large and persistent gap between knowledge and action on global tobacco control. Bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship must extend to internet-based media, but only one in four countries have comprehensively banned all forms of direct and indirect advertising.”

Source: The Guardian, 27 May 2021

See also: Evening Standard - Global data estimates nearly eight million deaths from smoking in 2019 ([link removed])

The Lancet - Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 ([link removed](21)01169-7/fulltext)
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** New research has revealed that tobacco smoking significantly increased the risk of 12 types of cancer and that 1-in-7 current smokers will get lung cancer in their lifetime. The risk of cancer increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and even “light” smokers of 1-5 cigarettes per day had an almost 10-fold increased risk of lung cancer.

The findings were drawn from the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study, one of the largest ongoing longitudinal studies of health and ageing globally, surveying more than 250,000 Australians. The study findings show that Lung cancer risk increased by 7% with every cigarette per day. For current smokers, the lifetime risk of lung cancer ranged from 14% overall to 26% for those who smoked more than 35 cigarettes per day, compared to 1% risk for never-smokers (1 in 100).

Dr Marianne Weber, a senior research fellow at The Daffodil Centre, said: “We know that smoking causes cancer. This new evidence reveals the extent of smoking-related cancer risk in Australia, capturing the health effects of smoking for Australians born in the early part of the 20th century. Some smokers are at the point where they are smoking a few cigarettes a day and don’t realise the cancer risks they are running. Cigarette smoke is directly coating their mouth, throat, oesophagus and lungs with 7000 chemicals, including 69 carcinogens, and the increase in cancer risk even with light smoking is dramatic.”

Dr Weber concluded by saying: “The good news is that the risk of cancer was significantly reduced among participants who had quit smoking – and the younger they quit, the better. These results demonstrate that quitting smoking is much more effective at reducing disease than “cutting down” the number of cigarettes smoked.”

Source: New Zealand Doctor, 28 May 2021

See also: The Daffodil Centre - Risk of lung cancer increased almost 10-fold among Australians smoking as few as 1-5 cigarettes per day ([link removed] )
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** Parliamentary Activity
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**
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** PQ1: Smoking – Pregnancy

Asked by Alex Cunningham, Stockton North

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the forthcoming Tobacco Control Plan for England, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial incentives in maternal smoking cessation pathways.

Answered by Jo Churchill, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

The Department is currently assessing the potential merits of providing financial incentives for pregnant women as part of the proposals for a new Tobacco Control Plan, due to be published later this year.

Source: Hansard, 27 May 2021
[link removed]

PQ2: Smoking

Asked by Alex Cunningham, Stockton North

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the forthcoming Tobacco Control Plan for England, if he will make it his policy to increase funding for related mass media campaigns to at least 2008 levels.

Answered by Jo Churchill, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

The Government remains committed to funding a programme of targeted evidence-based marketing campaigns to help people quit the use of tobacco. We will publish a new Tobacco Control Plan later this year to outline our proposals to deliver a smoke free country by 2030.

Source: Hansard, 27 May 2021
[link removed]
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** Links of the Week
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**
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** NHS Digital has published statistics on NHS stop smoking services in England for Q3 2020/21. Key findings reveal:
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** There has been a reduction in the number of smokers setting a quit date compared to Q3 2019/20 (122,762 compared to 155,645 last year) but higher quitting success rates (58.6% compared to 51% last year).
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** There has been a significant increase in the number of quit success among under-18s setting a quit date (47.3% compared to 42% last year).
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** There has been a significant increase in the number of pregnant women setting a quit date compared to Q3 2019/20 (13,094 compared to 9,684 last year) and higher quit success rates (47.7% compared to 44% last year).
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** Of pregnant women successfully quitting, 3.6% had their results confirmed by Carbon Monoxide verification. PHE &NHSE have now recommended that CO monitoring and face-to-face stop smoking support can resume.
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View Data ([link removed])


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** Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Professor Tim Coleman. This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches and review findings.

Professor Tim Coleman discusses a study he is carrying out with colleagues from Queen Mary University of London which looks at helping pregnant women who smoke tobacco cigarettes quit smoking. This trial of 1140 pregnant women compares usual care of behavioural support plus nicotine patches to behavioural support plus e-cigarettes in women willing to receive help to stop smoking. This multi-centre randomised control trial is taking place in the UK and we will include the results in our Cochrane review when these become available. For more information on the study see: [link removed]

Also available on iTunes and Spotify.
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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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