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** 09 July 2021
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** UK
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** BBC Newsnight report: Smoking in pregnancy and infant mortality (#1)
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** BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: Financial incentives for pregnant women who smoke (#2)
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** Tobacco companies circumvent menthol ban selling £1bn a year via loophole (#3)
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** Covid leaves UK councils with £3bn financial black hole (#4)
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** International
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** Charities blast Philip Morris over £1bn bid for smoker's lung drug company (#5)
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** Study shows rapid decrease in American lung cancer and melanoma deaths (#6)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary debate (#7)
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** Link of the Week
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** Virtual Event - Target 3.a of the Sustainable Development Goals on WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Key to recovery from COVID-19 and building back better (#8)
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** UK
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**
In the first episode of a 3 part series, BBC Newsnight health correspondent Deborah Cohen examines the role that smoking in pregnancy plays in Britain having some of the worst infant mortality rates in Western Europe.

Cohen explains that an analysis of the deaths of around 3,300 babies and children in 2019/2020 found that smoking in the household was a factor in 226 of the child deaths studied, the most significant modifiable risk factor. Four years ago, the Government set a target of 6% for the proportion of women smoking at birth by 2022. Cohen explains that we are not on track to meet the target. Currently 9.5% of women in England smoke at the time of birth. Pre-pandemic analysis by ASH found that 73 local authorities had seen little change in their smoking at birth rates between 2016 and 2020.

Cohen notes that solving this problem is about more than just offering encouragement to pregnant women. Stop smoking services are a key part of the solution and must be properly funded. However, Cohen illustrates how funding pressures are impacting services. Some local authorities are faring better than others, but this depends on factors like the extent of cuts, how services are delivered, and local social norms. As Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, says: ''The problem is that all local authorities have had their public health budgets cut.’’

Cohen explains that one major problem is that rates of smoking in pregnancy are disproportionately high amongst more deprived women. She explains that women in poorer areas often have a stronger addiction and are more likely to be around others who smoke, making it more difficult to quit.


Source: BBC Newsnight, 8 July 2021
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Watch Report ([link removed])


**

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** On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, and Sarah Stopworth, a stop smoking advisor for Sheffield council, explain how financial incentives should be part of the support package for pregnant women. The segment ran between 1:22:20 - 1:27:12.

''What we can see is that in regions where they have had a comprehensive approach, which means not just trying to identify pregnant smokers but making sure they are offered treatment, that they are encouraged to take up that treatment, that carbon monoxide screening is done so they can see what the impact is, and the use of financial vouchers so they can get that support and encouragement to quit … that’s where we’ve seen the biggest rates of decline’’, said Arnott.

Sarah Stopworth, a stop smoking advisor in Sheffield, added that she hoped the Government would adopt the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health’s recommendation that tobacco manufacturers pay into a fund to help local government cover the costs of addressing smoking. ''That is about the tobacco industry paying for the damage they have caused. And we could do so much more; we could offer incentives in pregnancy, we could do more social support for women … all the things we know that work within pregnancy, but we’ve not had the budget to sustain those programmes’’.

Source: BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 9 July 2021
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Listen Here ([link removed])


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** Leaked figures have revealed that one of Britain’s biggest tobacco companies, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), have sold more than £1 billion worth of cigarettes containing menthol since menthol cigarettes were outlawed in Britain last year. JTI had found a way to circumvent the ban by launching a range of alternative products containing menthol which complied with the law, such as cigarettes like New Superking Green and Sterling New Dual.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH, noted that the problem was that banning only ‘characterising’ flavours had left too big a loophole in the legislation: “We warned the Government the flavour ban wasn’t working and they were supposed to have carried out a review of the legislation and published their response by May 20. A month later and there’s still a deathly silence. As the sales figures show, limiting the ban to only flavours defined as ‘characterising’ has left a loophole so large the ban is pretty much worthless. It’s time for the Government to act, to prevent people dying from smoking whose lives could have been saved.”

Industry figures leaked to The Daily Express showed that in the 12 months since the menthol ban JTI had sold more than 100m packs of its menthol flavoured cigarettes, equal to more than 2bn individual cigarettes, and made around £91.65m in profits from them. Unpublished market data produced by Nielsen for cigarette manufacturers – seen by the Express - also shows some 707,000 smokers were buying the products by the end of 2020.

Based on market trends, it is feared 602,751 new customers will be lured to them this year unless the loophole is addressed. Metrics show around 241,000 people who would otherwise have given up are still smoking because they switched to new menthol brands instead of quitting, meaning an estimated 120,600 lives could be lost as a result of the failure to take JTI menthol brands off the shelves.

Source: Express, 8 July 2021
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** A BBC investigation into the state of councils’ finances has revealed that UK councils face a £3bn black hole in their budgets as they emerge from the pandemic. Some local authorities were found to be struggling to carry out statutory duties and were at risk of bankruptcy, said a local government expert, whilst 10 councils have asked to borrow £300m of emergency money from the government.

Analysing 170 upper-tier and single tier councils in the UK, the BBC Shared Data Unit found that UK local authorities plan to make at least £1.7bn worth of savings in the 2021-22 financial year while also using more than £500m worth of reserves to balance the books. It found that a quarter of these savings - some £434m - will be made in adult social care departments, which provide support to the elderly and vulnerable.

The analysis found a large difference in the extent of savings being made across the UK, with London councils having to save the equivalent of £40.48 per person in their population and North West councils £39.07 whilst the figure was £22.61 in Wales and £23.68 in the South West. Last week, Slough Council became the third council in four years to effectively declare itself bankrupt. It was one of 10 councils in England to have applied for a capitalisation direction, an emergency measure allowing a council to either borrow money to cover losses or to move funds from its building programme to fund day-to-day expenses.

Sharon Taylor, a Labour councillor who chairs the Local Government Association's resources board, said the pandemic had highlighted an existing funding crisis brought about by a reduction in central government grants, a fall of up to 70% over ten years in some places. However, the pandemic has also played a role by increasing the amount councils have had to spend to support their communities whilst income streams suffered.

Source: BBC News, 9 July 2021
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** International
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** Cancer research groups today reacted with astonishment as Philip Morris International (PMI) today (9th July) made a £1bn deal to buy Vectura, the British pharmaceutical company which is developing a pioneering inhaled treatment for COVID-19. Vectura’s board had recommended that shareholders accept an alternative £958m bid tabled by private equity group Carlyle in May but the £1.04bn offer by PMI trumped this, with Vectura’s board now recommending shareholders back PMI’s offer.

Vectura shares jumped more than 12% to 153p on Friday morning, making it the top riser on the FTSE 250. The cash offer from PMI is 150p a share. PMIhas invested more than $8bn (£5.8bn) to date in diversifying its business away from tobacco products. Last week, PMI spent $820m buying the nicotine gum maker Fertin Pharma. PMI aims to make $1bn in revenues from “beyond nicotine” products by 2025 and has identified respiratory drugs as a key focus. PMI said Vectura will operate as an “autonomous business unit” and form the “backbone” of PMI’s inhaled therapeutics business.

Vectura’s main treatment is for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as smoker’s lung, a disease of which tobacco addiction is one of the leading causes. Cancer Research UK chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: “It’s ironic that a tobacco company wants to invest in the lung health industry when their products are the biggest preventable cause of cancer, including lung cancer. If PMI really wanted to help, they could stop aggressively promoting and selling their products altogether.”

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the health charity ASH said: “PMI claims it holds more than a quarter of the global market for cigarettes, so its drive to become a “wellness company” is a long way from fruition. I can’t imagine the scientists working for Vectura, a respectable company making products that treat lung cancer, are going to be at all happy waking up to find they’re going to be working for Big Tobacco.’’

Source: Evening Standard, 9 July 2021
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** The latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer has shown that overall cancer death rates have continued to decline in men and women for all population groups in the United States. During 2001 to 2018, declines in lung cancer death rates accelerated, and death rates for melanoma declined considerably in more recent years, reflecting a substantial increase in survival.

However, the report did find that for several other major cancers, including prostrate, colorectal, and female breast cancers, previous declining trends in death rates had slowed or disappeared. The report, appearing in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, also finds that overall cancer incidence rates continue to increase among females, children, and adolescents and young adults.

But the report did show a decrease in death rates for 11 of the 19 most common cancers among men, and for 14 of the 20 most common cancers among women, over the most recent period. In males, a decline of 1.8% per year in 2001 to 2015 accelerated to a decline of 2.3% per year during 2015 to 2018. In females, a decline of 1.4% per year from 2001 to 2015 accelerated to a decline of 2.1% per year during 2015 to 2018.

The report also found that cancer incidence rates were higher among men than women in every ethnic group, and slightly lower among black people than white people. But overall cancer death rates were higher among black people than white people.


Source: Medical Xpress, 8 July 2021
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** HoL Grand Committee: Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licences) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Speaking during a Grand Committee session yesterday (9 July) on the Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licences) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, Lord Faulkner of Worcester announced that he has tabled a regret Motion to express regret that the Draft Amendment was not revised to take account of the evidence of the benefits of 100% smokefree pavement licences. The Business and Planning Act 2020 sets out a fast track process for pavement licences allowing licence-holders to place outdoor seating on pavements adjacent to the premises. The Act currently requires licence-holders to include an option for some smokefree seating in outdoor seating areas but some councils have gone further and required 100% smokefree seating.

The full wording of the Motion “regrets that the Draft Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licences) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 laid before the House on 8 June 2021 were not revised to take account of the evidence of the benefits of 100% smokefree pavement licences which have been implemented over the last year in a diverse range of local authorities and have received strong public support.”

The Motion to regret will be debated in the Chamber next week.

Source: Hansard, 8 July 2021
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** Link of the Week
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**
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** On 6th July 2021 the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) held a virtual event with the World Health Organization, the Secretariat of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and the Framework Convention Alliance. The event welcomed health ministers from across the world. It discussed the key role of the WHO FCTC in recovery from COVID-19 and building back better from it.

Jo Churchill, UK Health Minister, attended the event and said: “Whilst the fight on COVID-19 continues, we must make sure that we build back healthier populations that will be more resilient to future threats. And that is why we must include prevention at the very core of what we do and that includes tobacco control at the heart of our health systems and health policies.”

You can read about the event here ([link removed]) and watch it below.

Source: Hansard, 8 July 2021
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Watch Event ([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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