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** 06 September 2021
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** UK
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** Health fears as illegal super-strength vapes being sold to children (#1)
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** ADPH president named new deputy chief medical officer; OHP renamed (#2)
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** Scottish restrictions on cheap booze and junk food deals 'needed to save lives' (#3)
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** International
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** US: Menthol ban would save 650,000 lives in the next 40 years, says study (#4)
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** Study finds smoking one of three lifestyle habits that most increase risk of dementia (#5)
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** UK
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**
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** Children are buying super-strength vapes with more than twice the legal level of nicotine, according to industry figures leaked to the Daily Mail. The figures show that more than 53,000 of the ‘Geek Bar’ branded vapes are being sold every week in shops in the UK, up from around 2000 in May, and thousands more online, despite it being illegal to sell vapes to under-18s in the UK.

Most of the concern is with the super-strong Geek Bar Pro products, which cost between £5 and £7. Many of the Geek Bar Pro products have a nicotine level of 5%, more than double the UK legal limit. Young users of the Geek Bar Pro vapes have reported lengthy nosebleeds, coughing up blood, headaches, chest pains, and dizzy spells.

The vapes are being promoted and discussed on social media. One Geek Bar Pro seller posted a video to its 18,000 TikTok followers boasting of its ‘discreet packaging’ showing the vapes being hidden in Kinder Surprise egg boxes. Teenagers and even younger children have posted about the vapes, which come in flavours including fruit, bubble gum, and ice cream. The hashtag #geekbar has had 46 million views on TikTok including videos praising ‘yummy flavours’ and jokes about being ‘addicted’.

It is not clear how Geek Bar Pro vapes are being exported to the UK. They are not listed on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Register, with retailers only allowed to sell notified or approved products. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: ‘Action is needed now to get these products off shop shelves and to hit those who sell them hard with the full penalties allowed by law.’

Source: Daily Mail, 6 September 2021
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** The Government has confirmed that Jeanelle de Gruchy, the current President of the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), will become the new deputy chief medical officer. It has also been revealed that the Office for Health Promotion will be renamed the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and will officially launch on 1 October 2021.

Dr de Gruchy will become the new office’s expert lead, leading efforts to ‘level up’ the health of the nation by tackling obesity, improving mental health, and promoting physical activity. She will report jointly to the Health Secretary and Chief Medical Officer. She will lead the OHID’s work together with Jonathon Marron, director general for public health at the Department of Health and Social Care.

Dr de Gruchy is director of public health for Tameside in Greater Manchester and has been ADPH president since 2018. Originally from South Africa, she was previously DPH for Haringey LBC in London and Deputy DPH for Nottingham City Council. She has said that the OHID will "play a critical role in reducing health inequalities across the country".

As well as tackling the top preventable risk factors for poor health, the OHID will seek to improve access to health services across the country and coordinate with other Government departments to address the wider drivers of good health including employment, housing, and education.

Source: LGC, 3 September 2021
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** A group of 25 health charities and organisations have said that action on alcohol and junk food is needed to help reduce the number of people in Scotland dying of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The group cite new research showing that greater controls from the Scottish Government could prevent one-fifth of the 40,000 deaths in Scotland from these diseases every year and list six key points it wants the Scottish Government to consider over the next year.

The group has called on the Scottish Government to consider a public consultation and possible regulations on e-cigarette advertising, given concerns in some quarters that vaping is offering a route into smoking for children and young people. Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: “Most e-cigarette brands are now owned by tobacco companies, and limiting the promotion of e-cigarettes is an important step in reducing the uptake of recreational nicotine products, with young people especially at risk.”

The group has also called on the Scottish Government to increase the 50p per unit minimum pricing for alcohol to 65p in line with inflation. It says that this could save twice as many lives as the 50p initiative. It also wants a Bill restricting multi-buy offers for junk food and other items high in far, sugar, and drink. Moreover, it wants a new strategy to increase access to healthy options in deprived areas and to encourage smaller portions and better meal planning.

Its recommendations draw on new research by British Heart Foundation Scotland suggesting that 8,000 deaths in Scotland from non-communicable diseases could have been prevented with stricter Government measures. Alongside the other recommendations, the group wants a review of alcohol promotions and improvements to weight management, alcohol treatment, and smoking cessation services.


Source: The Press and Journal, 6 September 2021

See also:
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* ASH Scotland: Health charities call for action to save lives from Scotland’s biggest killers ([link removed])

*
** Report - Non-Communicable Disease Prevention: Priorities for 2021/22 ([link removed])
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** International
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** A new study conducted by the University of Michigan has found that banning menthol flavours in cigarettes could reduce smoking by 15% in the US and avoid 16,250 tobacco-related deaths every year by 2060 as such smokers would either quit smoking or switch to e-cigarettes or other alternatives.

The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, supports the April 2021 announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its intention to ban menthol cigarettes and cigars nationwide. It also found that additional measures such as increasing taxes on cigarettes and cigars could further reduce smoking and related deaths.

The study is based on data analysis and computational modeling drawing on recent trends in the use of cigarette and vaping products with trends in the use of menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes incorporated. The researchers developed a scenario with a menthol ban starting in 2021, informed by expert assessment of the potential impacts, and estimated the public health impact as the difference between smoking and vaping attributable deaths and life-years lost in the current and the menthol ban scenarios, between 2021–2060.

Source: Medical Xpress, 3 September 2021

See also: Tobacco Control - Public health impact of a US ban on menthol in cigarettes and cigars: a simulation study ([link removed])
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** A new study has identified smoking as one of three main factors which could increase the risk of getting dementia. The study, conducted by researchers in the Netherlands and involving 4,164 people with an average age of 59, found that smoking, high blood pressure, and poor diet most impacted participants’ dementia risk scores.

Participants in the study took tests of memory and other thinking skills to determine dementia risk and were asked about 12 different lifestyle factors. Researchers also looked at brain scans for signs of the vascular brain damage often seen in patients with dementia. They found that people who were in the high-risk dementia group had the three main lifestyle habits which increased their dementia risk.

With smoking identified as a main risk factor, the WHO has warned that smokers have a 45% higher risk of getting dementia. It is estimated that 14% of all Alzheimer’s disease cases worldwide are potentially attributable to smoking. "Since there is currently no cure for dementia, public health interventions need to focus on prevention by changing modifiable risk factors like smoking,” said Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO.

Source: Express, 3 September 2021

See also: Neurology - Associations of the Lifestyle for Brain Health Index With Structural Brain Changes and Cognition: Results From the Maastricht Study ([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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