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** 28 July 2021
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** UK
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** Cannabis part of the future says tobacco giant (#1)
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** Anti-vaping advice by World Health Organisation criticised by British experts (#2)
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** Chronic health issues for third in late 40s - study (#3)
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** Women urged to get healthy for pregnancy (#4)
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** Councils issue 'confrontational' list of 'red lines' for ICS working (#5)
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** UK
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** The chief executive of the UK’s largest tobacco firm, British American Tobacco (BAT), has said that cannabis products are part of the firm’s future as BAT releases its half year results to the end of June. BAT’s results show an 8.1% increase in revenues to £12.18bn, with non-combustible products like vapes now making up 11.8% of BAT’s revenue.

BAT reported an increase of 2.6m customers using its non-combustible products in the first half of this year to 16.1 million users overall. Amidst these changes, Jack Bowles, CEO of BAT, said that cannabidiol (CBD) vaping was "part of the future" for the firm. BAT is currently running a pilot of a new CBD vape product in Manchester and acquired a 20% stake in Canadian medical cannabis maker Organigram in March.

However, William Ryder, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, pointed out that tobacco sales still make up the vast majority of BAT’s revenue. "For now... BAT is still dependent on cigarettes... Traditional tobacco products still pay the dividend, and will do for some time," Ryder said.

Source: BBC News, 28 July 2021

See also:

BBC Radio 4 Today Programme - 1:15:50 - 1:19:30 ([link removed])

Financial Times - BAT reports soaring demand for cigarette alternatives ([link removed])
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** British experts have criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) report claiming that e-cigarettes are harmful and risk hooking new generations on nicotine. The report warns that many countries are “not addressing emerging nicotine and tobacco products and failing to regulate them”. Michael Bloomberg, the WHO’s global ambassador for non-communicable diseases and injuries, said that tobacco companies’ goal with non-combustible products “is simple: to hook another generation on nicotine.” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, added that “electronic nicotine delivery systems are harmful and must be better regulated.”

Responding to the report, John Britton, emeritus professor of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, said that “this report demonstrates that, sadly, the WHO still doesn’t understand the fundamental difference between addiction to tobacco smoking, which kills millions of people every year, and addiction to nicotine, which doesn’t.”

Martin Dockrell, tobacco control lead at PHE, said: “The best thing that a smoker can do is to stop smoking completely and the evidence shows that vaping is one of the most effective quit aids available.”

The report also found that three quarters of countries and 5.3 billion people are protected by at least one of the WHO’s recommended tobacco control measures, and half by at least two. It described “encouraging progress” seen around the world, with smoking prevalence among people aged over 15 having fallen from 22.7 per cent in 2007 to 17.5 per cent in 2019.

Source: The Times, 27 July 2021

See also:

WHO - Report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products ([link removed])

Daily Mail - WHO calls for restrictions on 'harmful' e-cigarettes amid fears they're being promoted to young people as safer alternatives to cigarettes ([link removed])

Sky News - E-cigarettes branded 'harmful' as World Health Organisation calls for greater regulation to protect children ([link removed])
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** The latest instalment of a long-running British study suggests that about one in three middle-aged people has multiple chronic health issues. The 1970 British Cohort Study found that 34% of middle-aged people studied had two or more chronic health problems, such as high blood pressure and mental ill-health, at age 46-48.

It found that the most commonly recorded health problems were high-risk drinking (26%), recurrent back problems (21%), mental-health problems (19%), and high blood pressure (16%). Diabetes and high blood pressure were both more common among those who were obese. Those from poorer backgrounds were also more likely to have poor health.

The 1970 British Cohort Study has been periodically tracking the lives of about 17,000 people born in England, Scotland, and Wales in a single week. Nearly 8,000 of them were surveyed for the University College London work, published in journal BMC Public Health.

The researchers said that targeted public health interventions in childhood and adolescence might improve the outcomes of future generations, including those aimed at encouraging a good diet, limiting alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and taking regular exercise.

Source: BBC News, 28 July 2021

See also: UCL - 1970 British Cohort Study ([link removed])
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New research has found that half of women trying for a baby drink alcohol and too few of them exercise. A King’s College London team found that four fifths of women trying for a baby drank caffeine, one in five smoked, and one in 25 took drugs, with rates highest amongst under-25s. The rate of smoking amongst those who had tried to conceive for a year or more was almost a quarter.

Only half of the women studied ate five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, and only two fifths exercised for the recommended 150 minutes per week. Under a third took folic acid supplements, as recommended by the NHS to reduce the risk of problems in the baby’s development in early pregnancy.

The majority of women who reported either a long-term health condition or history of pregnancy complications had not spoken to a doctor about their plans for a baby, which the charity said could mean they missed out on “crucial preconception care”.

The research was funded by the pregnancy charity Tommy’s and is published in the journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. It is based on 131,182 women who used Tommy’s Planning for Pregnancy tool. The charity said it should prompt “a national strategy to improve preconception health”.

Source: The Times, 28 July 2021
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Nine councils have angered NHS leaders by issuing a series of ‘red lines’ and pre-conditions which they say must be met for an integrated care system (ICS) to be successful. The red lines were issued by local authorities in Cheshire and Merseyside and have been interpreted as a threat to refuse to work with the local ICS if their demands are not met.

In a document entitled Red Lines for the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS, published in the meeting papers for Knowsley Council’s health and wellbeing board, the list of “pre-conditions for successful system” were outlined. They included ensuring that NHS spending in each of the nine boroughs was “determined in partnership with local government”, that the “place lead” roles within the ICS should be jointly appointed with councils, and that within the ICS, the partnership board should have a right to “review and challenge” the NHS board’s key decisions.

Several senior NHS leaders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the document was unhelpful and would only raise tensions further. One said: “I find it amazing they have taken the time to write this. It feels confrontational and like a land grab, particularly with primary care. Why didn’t they write one about their green lines and lay out their aspiration to cooperate?”.

The document comes after Knowsley Council infuriated NHS officials by advertising for an executive director to “oversee the transfer of responsibilities from Knowsley Clinical Commissioning Group to the council”. The council has subsequently clarified that CCG responsibilities are to be subsumed by ICS NHS boards, not by local councils.

Source: HSJ, 27 July 2021
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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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