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Anti-smoking charities have warned ministers in a joint letter that the £927m takeover of Vectura by Philip Morris International (PMI) risks allowing the tobacco company to subvert health legislation designed to cut cigarette consumption. The chief executives of Cancer Research UK, Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation, and Action on Smoking and Health have written to Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, and Sajid Javid, the health secretary, calling on the government to block the deal.
The charities warn there is a “real prospect” that PMI will use the takeover to “legitimise tobacco industry participation in health debates within the UK”. “This must not be allowed to happen. In addition, there is huge unease that a tobacco company could profit from treatments for conditions such as COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and asthma, illnesses made far more prevalent because of the marketing tactics used by tobacco companies, including PMI,” they say.
The charities argue that PMI has a “long history of subverting tobacco control policies for its own financial gain, funding pro-tobacco research and discrediting independent scientific evidence”. They also caution that Philip Morris’s “move into health circles would create considerable conflicts of interest at all levels”, likely negatively impacting the “important health-related work that Vectura currently undertakes”.
The charities warn that “if Vectura is purchased by PMI, it would be caught by Article 5.3, meaning that the government, and any public authorities, would need to carefully limit interactions with Vectura and reject any partnerships or non-enforceable agreements with the company.”
Source: The Times, 16 July 2021
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Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH, Sarah Woolnough, CEO of Asthma UK, and Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research UK, have written to the Government to express concern about the takeover of Vectura by Philip Morris International. The letter is provided in full below.
“Sir, We are deeply disturbed by the threatened takeover of the British respiratory drug company Vectura by Philip Morris International (PMI). More than one in ten cigarettes smoked worldwide are made by PMI, and in the UK smoking killed more people than Covid-19 did last year. PMI has a long and ignominious record of pursuing profit by undermining ethical norms. That the business secretary has asked officials to monitor the proposed takeover (business, Jul 14) is a step in the right direction, but it is not sufficient. To live up to its obligations under the WHO tobacco treaty, and protect public health policy from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry, the government must block this takeover.”
Source: The Times, 15 July 2021
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On July 14th Lord Faulkner of Worcester won a symbolic vote regretting the Government’s failure to require COVID-19 related seating outside cafes, pubs, and restaurants to be smokefree. Lord Faulkner’s motion received strong cross-party support from peers across the House.
Smoke-free seating is not required by national legislation but has been implemented very successfully over the last year by at least nine local authorities and has strong public support. A recent poll by YouGov for Action on Smoking and Health, of over 10,000 adults, found two thirds of adults want seating areas outside cafes, pubs and restaurants to be smoke free, with only one in five against.
Lord Faulkner, vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, said: ‘’In not adopting this measure the government has missed the opportunity to take a sensible step towards a smoke-free country. I hope they will take the chance to put this right in the future.”
The Local Government Association (LGA) is calling for a national smokefree condition to avoid councils having to implement the policy one by one. Nick Forbes CBE, leader of the Labour Group in the LGA and leader of Newcastle City Council, said: ‘’Smoke-free outdoor seating is an important part of our strategy to improve the health of our population and tackle health inequalities. It is vital that the government does all it can to address smoking rates.”
Leaders of other local authorities also praised the local impact of the policy. Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: ‘’By introducing smoke-free pavements across Manchester, we are welcoming everyone back to our vibrant cafes, bars and restaurants, while driving forward our vision for a smoke-free future.” In North Tyneside the elected mayor, Norma Redfearn CBE, said: “Smoke-free seating prevents harm caused by second-hand smoke, creates family friendly-spaces that denormalise smoking and hopefully help smokers to quit for good.”
Source: The Dentist, 15 July 2021
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Boris Johnson’s flagship ''levelling up’’ speech has been criticised by experts for containing a lack of detail and new policy. Conservative MPs are increasingly worried that the levelling up agenda risks becoming little more than a soundbite for the Johnson government.
Two years on from his first commitment to levelling up, Johnson delivered a speech in Coventry yesterday (15th July) which was heavy on rhetorical flourishes but light on detail. Thinktanks including the Institute for Fiscal Studies and IPPR North said it contained nothing new and that it was time for “deeds not words”. The Conservative MP Laura Farris told the BBC on Thursday that levelling up “means whatever anyone wants it to mean”.
More policies for levelling up are expected in a white paper on the subject in the autumn, but experts criticised the speech for failing to address the problems of inequality and economic imbalances that Johnson set out, and for contradicting other government policies. Torsten Bell, the director of the Resolution Foundation, pointed out that ''The government already has a big levelling down policy – the £20 a week cut to universal credit. One in three households in the Midlands and the north will lose £1,000 a year, compared to one in five in the south-east.” Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, added: “There’s nothing new … the fundamental issue is jobs and skills.’’
Source: The Guardian, 15 July 2021
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Boris Johnson is backing proposals for a new tax to pay for reforms to Britain’s social care system under plans that could be agreed within weeks. A government source told The Times that Downing Street was “comfortable with some sort of tax” to fund universal social care and reduce the burden on families.
The plan is likely to include a cap on the amount people have to pay towards their own care, as well as additional funding to ensure more people get help and staff are better paid. It is understood that the Treasury wants a higher limit than the £50,000 suggested by Sir Andrew Dilnot in a review of social care made ten years ago in order to minimise costs to the taxpayer.
Intensive work is under way in Whitehall to finalise a deal, and the prime minister has privately told senior figures he believes that a solution is imminent. Downing Street apparently wants to make an announcement to coincide with the second anniversary next weekend of Johnson’s arrival in No 10. However, key elements of the policy have yet to be finalised and other government sources played down the chances of a package being announced next week.
The cost of any reform could exceed £10 billion and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has been pressing Johnson to agree to a funding mechanism alongside the policy. A dedicated social care levy has been mooted, which in some versions would be limited to the over-40s. But there is high-level concern in government that a new tax risks breaking the Tory manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance, or VAT. Some cabinet ministers believe that unless Johnson wants to introduce a wealth tax, which is strongly opposed by many Conservatives, a levy will in effect be an income-tax rise.
Source: The Times, 16 July 2021
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Boris Johnson has today (16th July) rejected proposals made in the government-commissioned National Food Strategy for a salt and sugar tax. Johnson said of the plans released yesterday for a tax of £3 per kilogram of sugar and £6 per kilogram of salt sold to food companies and restaurants that he was “not attracted to the idea of extra taxes on hard-working people”.
The author of the National Food Strategy, Henry Dimbleby, said that the tax could halt Britons’ weight gain by cutting average daily intake by between 15 and 38 calories, equivalent to losing up to 2kg a year. However, speaking in the West Midlands, Johnson appeared to reject the proposal out of hand, though the environment secretary George Eustice promised to “carefully consider [his] conclusions and respond with a white paper within six months, setting out our priorities for the food system”.
Other MPs joined the Prime Minister in criticising the recommendations. David Davis, a former cabinet minister, said: “There is a bit of a habit of slightly patronising advice given to working-class parents. The biggest driver of poor diet is poverty and putting the price of things up for poor people is not a necessarily good idea. You’re talking about eye-wateringly large tax increases.’’
Dimbleby, however, said that a rise in the price of certain sugary foods was worth paying to protect the NHS and aimed primarily at the reformulation of food products. “There is huge scope for reformulation,’’ Dimbleby said.
Source: The Times, 15 July 2021
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On Monday 12th July ASH ran a webinar focusing on understanding more about the overarching objectives of the NHS Long Term Plan, the roles of different partners in the system, and how it’s being operationalised and supported regionally and nationally.
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ASH has developed a calculator showing the cost of smoking to the social care system at a regional and local authority level. The calculator reveals the total additional expenditure on social care as a result of smoking, as well as the number of people receiving unpaid care or with unmet need due to smoking.
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Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licenses) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
On Wednesday 14th July Lord Faulkner of Worcester won his motion to regret the Government’s failure to require COVID-19 related seating outside cafes, pubs, and restaurants to be smokefree. You can read the transcript of the debate that took place here.
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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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