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** 2 December 2021
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** UK
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** BMJ Editorial: It's time for practice and policy on smoking in pregnancy to reflect the evidence on incentives (#1)
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** Gang who smuggled 117 million illegal cigarettes into UK exposed by EncroChat hack (#2)
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** Tickets and vouchers in new scheme for healthy eating in Wolverhampton (#3)
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** International
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** China issues draft rules requiring e-cigarette firms to obtain licenses (#4)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary questions (#5)
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** UK
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** In an editorial, the BMJ writes that policy and practice on smoking in pregnancy should reflect the evidence on the use of incentives. More effective interventions are required as less than half of women who are daily smokers successfully quit during pregnancy. A 2019 Cochrane review found that provision of incentives effectively promotes sustained smoking cessation during pregnancy, with evidence supported by a study by Berlin and colleagues in 18 maternity wards in France.
Epidemiological evidence shows that smoking cessation during pregnancy is associated with a reduction in most adverse perinatal health risks and thus smoking cessation should translate into perinatal and child health benefits at population level. But how should incentives be pursued with pregnant women? There are several remaining questions. What is the optimal incentive scheme (timing, frequency, value, duration, and type of incentive)? Who should deliver the scheme and how? Could personalised incentives be more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach? Would involvement of a significant other (such as a partner) in the intervention increase effectiveness? Could the intervention be extended to include the postpartum period to sustain cessation?
The BMJ argues that implementation should be pursued in parallel with ongoing and future research on these and other questions. It notes that incentives are most effective when provided alongside counselling and could be integrated into existing services to support cessation. The Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Midwives have already argued that financial incentives should routinely be offered to promote smoking cessation during pregnancy, supported by newly published guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK. The BMJ says ethical consideration and the involvement of pregnant smokers and their families must now play a role in policy and implementation, with the time now right to follow the evidence.
Source: BMJ, 1 December 2021
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** See also: NICE - Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence ([link removed])
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** A gang who smuggled more than 117 million illegal cigarettes worth £36million in tax excises were caught out by the EncroChat hack. The Rochdale-based gang smuggled the illicit cigarettes into the country by hiding them in lorries and sent millions of pounds worth of profits out of the UK in the same way to Poland to a mysterious figure referred to as 'Big Boss'. They were caught out as authorities cracked the highly secure EncroChat network and discovered incriminating messages.
Two men have been jailed for more than seven years. The gang spoke on EncroChat about how to avoid getting caught as people stayed at home during lockdown and referred to £10,000 bundles of cash as 'sandwiches' which they packaged before transporting them to Europe hidden in lorries. The messages showed about £8 million of the proceeds from the sale of the cigarettes were smuggled or attempted to be smuggled out of the country to Poland.
The authorities stopped about £1.6 million after the cash was seized at Dover in May last year. Units were operated in Rochdale, Aintree, Haslingden and Loughborough, where cigarettes were unloaded from lorries. The cigarettes were hidden in the lorries in bags or in hollowed out plasterboard, or had false paperwork to disguise the load as frozen food.
Source: Manchester Evening News, 1 December 2021
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** A new government pilot scheme will see people given incentives such as tickets and vouchers for leading healthier lifestyles. The pilot, to be trialled in Wolverhampton, will give people a tracker to collect points which can be traded for rewards. It will run for six months from early 2022.
Residents taking part in the trial will be given a wrist-worn device linked to an app which encourages them to increase their step count and eat more fruit and vegetables. If they behave healthily, they will collect points that they can cash in for theme park tickets, cinema visits, gym passes, and clothes or food vouchers. The Department of Health and Social Care says Wolverhampton was chosen for the pilot because of its population size and because a third of the city’s residents are classed as physically inactive and a below-average number eat five-a-day fruit and vegetables. If successful, the pilot could be rolled out to the rest of the country.
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Source: BBC News, 1 December 2021
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** International
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** China’s tobacco authority has issued draft rules governing e-cigarettes following last weeks' amendment to its tobacco monopoly law to include e-cigarettes, meaning that e-cigarettes will come under a state-run monopoly directly controlled by the tobacco regulator. The regulator dictates pricing and distribution for brands and generates tax income for the government.
The new draft rules for e-cigarettes state that companies selling e-cigarettes in China must meet national standards and receive a special license from the tobacco authority to register and do business legally. The tobacco authority said that it will establish a "unified national electronic cigarette transaction management platform" that all licensed e-cigarette wholesalers and retailers must sell products through. It also said that tax collection and payment of e-cigarettes would be implemented in accordance with national taxation laws and regulations.
Source: Reuters, 2 December 2021
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** Parliamentary Activity
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**
PQs 1&2: Electronic Cigarettes: Smuggling
Asked by Lord Naseby (House of Lords)
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to Trading Standards offices to undertake enforcement actions to ensure that illegally imported e-cigarette products are removed from the UK market.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the importation of illegal e-cigarette products into the UK.
Answered by By Lord Kamall (House of Lords)
Through the introduction of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, we have introduced e-cigarette product and safety standards, along with a duty to notify a product to be placed on the United Kingdom market to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Non-compliant products are subject to local trading standards enforcement. The Department continues to work closely with the MHRA, Trading Standards and other regulatory enforcement agencies to ensure that products sold in the UK comply with regulations for all e-cigarette products and the non-compliant products are removed from the market. Central funding is provided to local authorities for local trading standards activity, including illicit e-cigarettes.
Source: Hansard, 2 December
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