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** 21 December 2021
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** UK
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** NHS drug pledge broken for asthma sufferers and smokers, report reveals (#1)
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** NICE reveals next chief executive (#2)
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** Vapers could return to smoking cigarettes if workplace restrictions tightened, survey suggests (#3)
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** Shop director convicted after £11k of illicit tobacco seized (#4)
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** UK
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** A promise to ensure that people with severe asthma and smokers who want to quit can get the drugs they need has been broken by ministers and the NHS, a health service report reveals.

In 2019 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE), Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and makers of branded medicines signed an agreement, called the voluntary scheme, to increase the number of patients able to obtain cost-effective medicines on the NHS. It covered five key disease areas in which receipt of drugs would result in “high health gain.” These were cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, stopping smoking by using varenicline, hepatitis C and atrial fibrillation and thromboembolism, a heart problem. The plan was to ensure that England became one of the best countries in Europe for access to relevant medications.

However, a report which NHSE commissioned, but has not published, shows that while the target has been met for cystic fibrosis and hepatitis C, it has been missed for severe asthma and smokers seeking to quit using varenicline. It compares England’s progress against 10 other European countries, including France, Spain and Italy. Varenicline, better known as Champix, made by Pfizer, was withdrawn from use in the UK in June after impurities were discovered in batches of the drug.

Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of ASH, said: “The fact that despite setting this as a priority, the NHS has failed to deliver is concerning, and indicates the entrenched problems of getting smoking cessation taken more seriously in the NHS at a time when they are starting to roll out a big programme to increase support for smokers in inpatient, maternity and mental health settings through the [NHS] long-term plan.”

Richard Torbett, the ABPI’s chief executive, urged ministers to increase UK spending on drugs, which he said was the lowest among the G7 group of rich nations.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “One of our top priorities is improving outcomes for patients with respiratory disease, and the NHS is rolling out tobacco dependence treatment services, on top of local authority services to help more smokers get support.”

Source: Guardian, 20 December 2021
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** Dr Samantha Roberts, the managing director of insurance provider Legal and General’s health and care business, has been appointed the next chief executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Dr Roberts replaces Gill Leng, who took over from NICE’s first CEO Sir Andrew Dillon in April 2020. Dr Roberts had previously spent four years at NHS England, first as director of innovation, research and life sciences and then as the chief executive of the Accelerated Access Collaborative, which helped pharmaceutical and MedTech businesses get innovative products tested in or funded by the NHS. Dr Roberts joined consultants McKinsey after working as a surgical trainee in Australia and has then worked in academia, private and the NHS. She was head of operations at University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust specialist hospitals between 2008 and 2012.

Dr Roberts said: “We are living through a golden age of medical innovation. So, it is an enormous privilege to be asked to lead an organisation that has both such a proud history and such a significant future role to play in bringing the best of this innovation into practice.”

Source: HSJ, 17 December 2021
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** According to a study by vaping retailer E-Cigarette Direct, one-fifth of people using vapes to quit smoking tobacco could return to smoking cigarettes if restrictions on e-cigarettes tightened in their workplace.

The study is based on a survey of 2,000 people who vape. The study also uncovered how vapers often convince their acquaintances and colleagues to switch from cigarettes to vaping. About 45% of women and 52% of men say they had introduced a colleague to vaping, stated the survey’s findings.

James Dunworth, chairman of E-Cigarette Direct, said: “Unlike smoking, people are legally allowed to vape inside, and many use it as an alternative to tobacco. However, some workplaces provide a shared space for people to vape and smoke, which could cause a lot of relapses. […] Those trying to avoid tobacco-based products should be given the respect and space to vape away from cigarette smoke.”

Source: Wales Online, 19 December 2021
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** The director of a convenience store has been prosecuted for selling illicit and counterfeit tobacco products just nine days after a trading standards raid. Officers from Salford City Council Trading Standards service found cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco hidden in the basement and a rear room at the shop in Broughton, a court was told. Nine days later, officers returned and found more illegal cigarettes behind the till and hidden in a rear room.

Officers seized 12,950 illicit cigarettes, including hand-rolling tobacco, from the two raids. The estimated total street value was £11,256. The store director was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £920. The limited company was fined £750 and ordered to pay £920 and a victim surcharge of £95. A forfeiture order was also made for all goods seized.

Salford City Council, which supports Greater Manchester’s Keep it Out campaign against illegal tobacco, has now written to 233 retailers, including newsagents and off-licences that may sell tobacco lawfully, to ask for their support in the fight against illegal tobacco.

Source: The Business Desk, 20 December 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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