From Action on Smoking and Health <[email protected]>
Subject ASH Daily News for 18 August 2021
Date August 18, 2021 12:20 PM
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
  Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** 18 August 2021
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


** Medical chiefs blast the takeover of Vectura by Marlboro cigarette maker (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Trusts fear fragmentation of specialised services under Health Bill reforms (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Opinion: Spending review is an opportunity to invest in the NHS for the future (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Scotland: Alcohol deaths at the highest level since 2008 (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Scotland: Specialist mental health support available to help Lanarkshire smokers quit (#5)
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** The campaign against Vectura’s sale to the maker of Marlboro cigarettes has intensified as medical chiefs warned it could severely damage the future of the business.

In a letter, medical organisation Tobacco Free Portfolios told shareholders in the inhaler firm – Vectura that a takeover by Philip Morris International (PMI) would result in the company losing contracts and customers due to reputational damage. Medics who signed the letter – including Dr Andrew Goddard, president at the Royal College of Physicians, and Christina Marriott, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health – also expressed dismay that PMI will end up profiting from treating the illnesses its product causes, something that they describe as morally reprehensible.

The letter stated, “tobacco companies should not profit from treating the illnesses their products cause.” In 2016, PMI promised to move its customers away from cigarettes, a strategy it calls “beyond nicotine.” However, the medics rubbished the strategy, labelling it as “disingenuous” as PMI continues to manufacture more than 2 billion cigarettes per day.

The letter reads: “The notion that PMI is transitioning towards becoming a self-care wellness company is a concept utterly rejected by the global health community, and just this month, PMI bid for a new cigarette factory license in Egypt.”

Vectura’s board accepted the £1.02 billion offer last week, and Philip Morris has until 15 September to gain 50% shareholder approval.

Source: Daily Mail, 17 August 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Providers fear a “fragmentation” of services when NHS England begins delegating specialised services budgets to integrated care systems (ICSs) under reform plans. The concerns were “explicitly raised” in a meeting between providers and NHSE about specialised commissioning this month.

One leader of a specialist trust told HSJ: “There is a real risk of fragmentation. You can already see some of the conversations around various services around how people want to keep patients within their own ICS. There is the potential there for systems to buck the trend of centralising specialist services. Rather than bringing expertise and quality together, systems looking after budgets will look to set up their own specialist services.”

HSJ understands NHSE is likely to ask its regional teams to decide which specialist services to delegate to ICSs and continue commissioning across a wider area. This decision reflects the significant difference in ICS population sizes and the prevalence of specialist conditions in each one. NHSE has committed to formal engagement on a delegation with both patient groups and providers.

The Neurological Alliance indicated it had concerns about responsibilities passing to ICSs. Its chief executive Georgina Carr said: “In too many areas of the country, the infrastructure is simply not yet in place to realise the potential benefits of delegation. Local systems need access to the data necessary to assess need and commission services effectively, and the right workforce needs to be in place to deliver high-quality treatment and care. People with neurological conditions and the voluntary sector also need to be involved in shaping ICS strategy now and going forward.”

Source: HSJ, 17 August 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Matthew Taylor, CEO of the NHS Confederation, argues that the spending review coming up this autumn offers an opportunity to make long-term investments in the NHS.

He highlights that the coronavirus pandemic has put a significant burden on the NHS, which is simultaneously dealing with a large backlog exacerbated by staff shortages, a lack of multi-year capital funding settlement, and a decade of austerity budgets. He points out that the task of reducing the backlog will be enormous and will require “years of sustained funding and political commitment.”

Taylor highlights that existing health inequalities must be addressed, and one method to help achieve that is to improve economic prospects. He argues that the government’s “levelling up” agenda must concentrate on areas that have been neglected to break this vicious loop.

Taylor points out that public health plays a critical role in the fight against pandemics, and cuts to public health spending undermine commitment to prevention and the ability to improve health. He argues that “primary care and public health can no longer be considered an afterthought.”

Taylor concludes that “a new multi-year funding settlement is crucial for both health and care” as the nation begins to look beyond the coronavirus pandemic. He says that “now is the moment for an honest revaluation of the long-term funding settlement for the NHS, accepting that this may come at a price, to build in resilience for another 70 years and more.”

Source: Politics Home, 16 August 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland rose to their highest level in more than a decade in 2020. According to new figures by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), there were 1,190 alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland in 2020, an increase of 17% from 2019 and the highest number registered since 2008 when 1,316 people died. The figures do not include deaths that are partially attributed to alcohol.

The number of alcohol-specific deaths increased between 2012 and 2018 before falling by 10% in 2019, which experts took as early evidence of the success of minimum unit-pricing (MUP) for alcohol, which was introduced in May 2018 to tackle Scotland’s chronically unhealthy relationship with alcohol and is currently fixed at 50p a unit.

Findings from the report show that alcohol deaths in the most deprived areas were around four times more than those in the least deprived areas. Responding to the figures, Alison Douglas, the chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said that the reversal of last year’s reduction was “devastating to see.”

“Scotland has made good progress in addressing the problems we have with alcohol by introducing policies like minimum unit-pricing, which shows promising results. Yet, the impact of the pandemic threatens to undermine this progress. Many people, particularly heavier drinkers, have reported that they have increased their drinking during the last 18 months. The effects are felt most by those living in our poorest communities, who are eight times more likely to die due to alcohol.

“If we are to prevent more people losing their lives to alcohol and to reduce health inequalities, we need to redouble our efforts by reducing the availability of alcohol, restricting its marketing and by uprating minimum unit price. Importantly, we also need to make sure that support is available to those who need it now.”

Source: The Guardian, 17 August 2021

See also: National Records of Scotland - Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland increase ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )


**

------------------------------------------------------------


** Lanarkshire smokers with mental health problems are receiving specialised support from nurses at NHS Lanarkshire’s Quit Your Way service, who are assisting those ready to quit smoking.

The specialist team are advising on suitable nicotine replacement products that can help. Sharon Rankine, a mental health nurse specialist at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “Stopping smoking is associated with improved mental health and overall wellbeing. Many people with a mental health diagnosis have successfully quit smoking with the help of our specialist service.

“It is often believed the withdrawal from nicotine has a negative impact on mental health. However, the results are the opposite. Those who have successfully quit, regularly report improved self-esteem and confidence.

“People living with mental health conditions are just as motivated to quit as the rest of the population who smoke and stopping can lead to an improvement in mental health for those with depression, anxiety and stress as well as an overall better quality of life.”

Source: Daily Record, 17 August 2021
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here. ([link removed])

For more information email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
@ASHorguk ([link removed])

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.

============================================================
Our mailing address is:
Action on Smoking and Health
Unit 2.9, The Foundry
17 Oval Way
London
SE11 5RR

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
Screenshot of the email generated on import

Message Analysis