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** 10 June 2021
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** UK
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** North West public backs government ambition to end tobacco epidemic by 2030 (#1)
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** Yorkshire and the Humber: Former and current smokers in Hull invited for NHS lung check amid high cancer rates (#2)
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** International
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** Pakistan: Government plans to increase tax on cigarettes (#3)
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** US study: Efforts to prevent smoking, obesity could delay the need for angioplasty and stenting (#4)
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** UK
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**
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** More than three quarters (76%) of people in the North West back the government’s ambition to make smoking history by 2030.

The high level of public support was revealed yesterday, as the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health warns the government that it can only build back better and fairer from the pandemic by making smoking obsolete. Now, say the cross-party group of MPs and peers, is the time for the government to commit to the actions needed to secure its vision of a Smokefree 2030.

Smoking kills around 18,600 people a year in the North West, with 14.5% of people in the region still lighting up, equating to 830,000 smokers. Smoking not only kills people prematurely, but it also drives them into poverty and reduces healthy life expectancy, with smokers needing help with everyday tasks seven years earlier than those who have never smoked. However, this burden is not equal. Smoking is concentrated among disadvantaged groups, locking in poverty and poor health across the generations.

The report’s recommendations include greater funding for tobacco control programmes, to be secured through a ‘polluter pays’ amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill, forcing tobacco manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking.

Bob Blackman MP Chairman of the APPG said: “Our report sets out measures which will put us on track to achieve the Government’s ambition to end smoking by 2030, but they can’t be delivered without funding. Tobacco manufacturers make extreme profits selling highly addictive, lethal products, while government coffers are bare because of COVID-19. The manufacturers have the money, they should be made to pay to end the epidemic.”

Sir Richard Leese, Chair of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, which has endorsed the APPG’s report and recommendations, said: “Our ambition is to make smoking history in Greater Manchester, leading the way for the rest of the country to become smoke free by 2030. By highlighting the financial and social issues which affect the health and wellbeing of our residents and communities linked to smoking, we can really begin to address the problems and build on the things we’re doing well. This new report demonstrates why our mission to make tobacco obsolete is so important and so challenging. But it also gives renewed hope that we can achieve it.”

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, said: “We all applauded when the government announced its ambition for a Smokefree 2030. But that was two years ago, the time has now come to deliver.”

Source: About Manchester, 9 June 2021

See also: APPG Press Release, which includes regional figures on public support for the APPG’s key recommendations - Parliamentarians call on Government to end the tobacco epidemic by 2030 ([link removed])

APPG Report: Delivering a Smokefree 2030: The All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health recommendations for the Tobacco Control Plan 2021 ([link removed])
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** Past and current smokers in Hull are being invited to a free NHS lung health check to improve lung cancer diagnosis. Hull has one of the highest mortality rates for lung cancer in England and is part of the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check programme.

About 32,000 past and current smokers will be invited to a lung check by their GP over the next 9 months, with the first stage being done over the phone and the second being a low dose CT scan of the lungs if the person is deemed to be “high-risk”.

Officials believe that the checks could identify over 300 cases of cancer earlier than they would have been otherwise. The screenings will be run from a mobile unit that will be taken to different accessible areas in the city.

Dr Stuart Baugh, Programme Director for the Lung Health Check programme in Hull, said: “Lung Health Checks can bring huge benefits in diagnosing a range of illness, not just lung cancer, but also emphysema, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at a much earlier and more treatable stage. The Hull lung health check service first launched in January 2020 and ran for five weeks before being paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. During that time, the service welcomed over 900 participants, helped identify a number of cancers at an early stage and referred over 100 participants to local stop smoking services.”

Source: ITV News, 9 June 2021
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** International
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** Pakistan’s health ministry has proposed a 30% increase in the tax rates for the cigarette industry in the upcoming budget 2021-22. The federal government is reviewing three different tax proposals. Tobacco companies, however, proposed no change to the tax rates.

The Federal Board Revenue (FBR) has collected a tax amount of Rs134 billion on tobacco during the current fiscal year. If the much-awaited track and trace system is implemented, the FBR collection may go up to Rs175 billion in the next fiscal year.

Local cigarette manufacturers have suggested the government reduce excise duty on local brands.

Source: Geo News, 9 June 2021
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** According to a new study, smokers needed their blocked arteries fixed nearly a decade earlier than non-smokers. Patients with obesity also underwent these procedures four years earlier than non-obese patients.

The research included patients without a history of heart attack treated at hospitals across Michigan participating in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2). The patients had undergone angioplasty and/or stenting to widen or unblock their coronary arteries and restore blood flow.

Findings from the study show that almost all the study participants had at least one traditional risk factor, including smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Most had three or more. Additionally, women generally had their first procedure at a later age than men.

Devraj Sukul, the lead author of the study, said: “Smoking is a completely preventable risk factor. If we direct additional efforts at preventing smoking and obesity, we could significantly delay the onset of heart disease and the need for angioplasty and stenting.”

Source: News Medical Life Sciences, 9 June 2021

See also: Plos One - Prevalence of coronary risk factors in contemporary practice among patients undergoing their first percutaneous coronary intervention: Implications for primary prevention ([link removed])
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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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