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** 28 September 2021
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** UK
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** Smokers up to 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid, study says (#1)
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** Junk food curbs can turn the tide on obesity, say experts (#2)
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** Opinion: How UK can become cancer care world leader (#3)
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** International
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** US: San Jose to become largest California city to ban flavoured tobacco sales, smoking in apartments (#4)
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** India: Jharkhand to act against tobacco use by minors (#5)
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** UK
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** New research suggests that smokers are 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital and significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers.

The study, led by Oxford University, pooled observational and genetic data on smoking and COVID-19 to strengthen the evidence base, contradicts research published at the start of the pandemic suggesting that smoking might help protect against the virus.

The researchers looked at GP health records, Covid test results, hospital admissions data and death certificates to identify associations between smoking and COVID-19 severity from January to August 2020. Overall, 421,469 participants of the UK Biobank were included in the study - all of whom had had their genetic make-up analysed.

Findings from the study reveal that compared with those who had never smoked, current smokers were 80% more likely to be admitted to hospital and significantly more likely to die from COVID-19. To investigate further, the study researchers used Mendelian randomisation, which uses genetic variants as proxies for smoking behaviours to obtain further evidence for a causal relationship.

The result shows that a genetic predisposition to smoking was associated with a 45% higher risk of infection and a 60% higher risk of hospital admission for COVID-19. The team also found that a genetic predisposition to smoke more heavily was associated with a more than doubling in the risk of infection; a 5-fold increase in the risk of hospital admission; and a 10-fold increase in the risk of death from the virus.

Dr Ashley Clift, the study lead, said: “Our results strongly suggest that smoking is related to your risk of getting severe Covid, and just as smoking affects your risk of heart disease, different cancers, and all those other conditions we know smoking is linked to, it appears that it’s the same for Covid. So now might be as good a time as any to quit cigarettes and quit smoking.”

Source: The Guardian, 28 September 2021

See also: Medical Xpress - Smoking highly likely to worsen COVID-19 severity and risk of associated death ([link removed])

BMJ Journals - Smoking and COVID-19 outcomes: an observational and Mendelian randomisation study using the UK Biobank cohort ([link removed])

BMJ Journals - A respiratory pandemic should focus the mind on tobacco control ([link removed])
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** According to a group of charities and experts, Britain can "turn the tide" on rising obesity by tackling stigma and tightening rules around food sales.

The Government could become the first in the world to reverse the trend in weight gain if it takes tough action, the Obesity Health Alliance claims. Its ten-year strategy, published yesterday, demands harsher curbs on the marketing of junk food and much stronger promotion of healthier alternatives. It says ministers must address the "weight bias and stigma" experienced by obese people and "reframe" obesity as an issue of "collective, rather than personal responsibility."

The report argues people are exposed to an "obesogenic environment" from birth – "one in which calorie-dense, nutrient-poor food is accessible, abundant, affordable and normalised and where physical activity opportunities are not built into everyday life."

The alliance, which includes the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK and Royal Medical Colleges, said successive governments have failed to tackle the problem. The alliance supported Government plans to introduce a 9pm watershed on TV and a ban on paid-for advertising online for unhealthy food and drink. It also recommended policies that cut access to unhealthy items, including licensing retailers or curbing hours when products can be sold. Other suggestions included mandatory front-of-pack nutrient labelling. Separately, it said greater clarity should be given on employers' legal responsibility not to discriminate against staff based on weight.

Professor Linda Bauld, academic project lead, said: "Turning the tide on obesity is achievable. Over the same three decades in which obesity has continued to rise, UK smoking rates have been halved – achieved through a series of comprehensive government strategies."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "The new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is launching next month, which will spearhead national efforts to tackle obesity, improve mental health and promote physical activity."

Source: Daily Mail, 28 September 2021

See also: OHA - Turning the Tide: A 10-year Healthy Weight Strategy ([link removed])
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**
Writing in the Yorkshire Post, Chris Thomas, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), discusses the strategies that can turn the UK into a world leader on cancer care.

Thomas explains how it has become more apparent that one of the biggest threats to health in the UK brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, apart from COVID-19 itself, is the disruption of cancer services. He welcomes the government’s recent Health and Social Care Levy which will raise a little over £15 billion extra for the NHS in the next three years but argues that more ambitious action is needed to achieve comprehensive reforms to cancer care in the NHS.

Thomas highlights the IPPR’s pledge on cancer recovery which could help the NHS get through the current backlog and achieve genuinely world-class cancer outcomes in the future.

The first part of the pledge must be “building more capacity.” This will involve more funding and more diagnostic machinery, especially where the backlogs are worst. It will also require “significant efforts to recruit and retain a sustainable, thriving cancer workforce.”

The second part is to enable much more innovation as the IPPR’s “research shows that innovation is often blocked by a system that was reorientated during the austerity era to contain costs at all costs, rather than to maximise our health.”

The final part of the pledge is prevention, where Thomas states that about “four in 10 cancers can be prevented by better policies on tobacco, diet, weight and alcohol consumption.” Thomas notes that in July 2020, the government brought forward a new obesity strategy – including restrictions on junk food ads and promotions but urges the government to establish a bolder policy that will include taxing those responsible for poor health – junk food and tobacco companies. He highlights that it would help fund healthy food subsidies and pay for tobacco control measures across the nation.

Thomas concludes by saying: “It’s time for the Government to do whatever it takes to recover, to build back better, and to genuinely lead the world on brilliant cancer care.”

Source: The Yorkshire Post, 28 September 2021
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** International
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** San Jose is ready to become the largest city in California to ban the sale of flavoured tobacco products and prohibit all smoking and vaping inside apartments.

At a rally outside San Jose City Hall on Monday, Mayor Sam Liccardo, city council members and community leaders agreed that it was “far past time” for the city to enact these laws and keep the enticing fruity, minty and candied flavours away from San Jose children. The full 11 city council will vote on the proposed action on Tuesday (28 September).

Under the first ordinance, San Jose would ban more than 650 tobacco retailers from selling flavoured tobacco products, including menthol. It would also prohibit new tobacco retailers from opening a store within 500 feet of another tobacco retailer and 1,000 feet of a school, park, community centre or library. Tobacco retailers will be given six months to deplete the newly prohibited products before facing any fines or other enforcement actions.

A separate ordinance would outlaw smoking and vaping— including cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vapes and cannabis products — inside most multifamily housing complexes within the city. The regulation would apply to any housing with three or more units. Duplexes, condominiums and hotels and motels would be exempt. The proposed ordinance goes beyond current city regulations, which only prohibits smoking in publicly accessible and common areas of multifamily housing.

Source: Bakersfield, 27 September 2021
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** On Monday, Health Minister Banna Gupta said that new data from the Global Youth Cigarettes Survey (GYTS) 2021 shows that at least 5.1% of children aged 13 to 15 years in Jharkhand use tobacco.

In a bid to completely eradicate the use of tobacco products by minors, a bill has been introduced in the Jharkhand Assembly to increase the minimum age for tobacco consumption or any involvement of a person in tobacco-related trade to 21 years from 18 years, the minister said.

The Jharkhand government has also prohibited the sale of tobacco products within a 100-meter radius of schools, government offices, hospitals and courts. Besides, any person found selling tobacco products to minors will face imprisonment of up to seven years and pay a fine.

The government is also planning to impose restrictions on tobacco-use in private institutions and offices, according to Gupta.

Source: Telegraph India, 28 September 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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