View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** 11 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------


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


** UK-listed tobacco firm Imperial Brands halts Russian operations (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Council leader and public health director back efforts to tackle smoking (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Glasgow gift card tobacco ban for low income residents sparks row (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


** International
------------------------------------------------------------


** Imperial Tobacco accused of cheap Laos product deal (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------


** More than 2.5 million US students reported use of either a tobacco or e-cigarette product in 2021, CDC report finds (#5)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Parliamentary Activity
------------------------------------------------------------


** Parliamentary questions (#6)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Links of the Week
------------------------------------------------------------


** Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control (#7)
------------------------------------------------------------


** NHS Smokefree Pledge (#8)
------------------------------------------------------------


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


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


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


** Imperial Brands has suspended all operations in Russia following international sanctions against the country in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The London-listed company said that it was halting production at its factory in Volgograd and all sales and marketing activities in the country.

Imperial said it would continue to pay its Russia employees whilst operations were suspended, whilst it has paused operations in Ukraine as the conflict continues. Russia and Ukraine together represented about 2% of Imperial’s net revenue and 0.5% of its adjusted operating profit in 2021.

Tobacco rival Philip Morris has already said it is scaling down tobacco production in Russia, but did not go as far as Imperial in promising to fully halt it. In a statement, Imperial put its decision down to the “hugely challenging environment in Russia” and “severe disruption” caused by international sanctions.

On Thursday, Japan Tobacco International reversed its original decision and announced it would suspend investment, marketing activities, and a planned launch of a heated tobacco product. Like Imperial, it cited the “unprecedented challenges of operating in Russia at this time”. Japan International controls about one-third of Russia’s overall tobacco market.
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Source: Reuters, 9 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------


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


** See also:
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** City AM - Smoking them out: Cigarette giant Imperial Brands halts Russian operations
------------------------------------------------------------
*
** Reuters - Uniqlo operator, Japan Tobacco to suspend some Russia operations in U-turn ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Read Article ([link removed])


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


**
Newcastle City Council’s outgoing leader Nick Forbes and County Durham director of public health Amanda Healy have joined politicians and campaigners in reiterating the importance of meeting the national target for a “Smokefree England by 2030”. Forbes and Healy joined others in making the commitment at an event in Whitehall to mark ASH’s 50^th anniversary.

At the event, Forbes showcased Newcastle City Council’s support for a high-level document setting out commitments and actions to achieve the 2030 ambition. Newcastle City Council had played a key role in pioneering the original document in 2013, the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control, now updated in light of the 2030 ambition. Healy expressed her support for the NHS Smokefree Pledge, a sister document for the NHS recently updated to reflect the 2030 target.

Forbes spoke at the event and said there must be an end to the “underfunding of both public health and local councils” if authorities were to save the “hundreds dying each day” due to smoking. Healy urged the Government to curb the influence of the tobacco industry on public health policy. Public Health Minister Maggie Throup also spoke and noted the harm done by tobacco. Research from ASH and others has shown that smoking rates amongst deprived smokers are particularly high in the North East, with devastating health, social, and economic impacts.

Dr Ruth Sharrock, a respiratory consultant leading on tobacco for the NHS in the North East, and Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh North East regional smoking prevention programme, also attended. Rutter said: “Smoking robs the lives of people in our region, making them sicker, poorer and more likely to die young. We have 8 years left to secure the Government’s ambition of a smokefree country by 2030 and no time can be lost in putting the measures in place that will get us there."
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Source: Chronicle Live, 11 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


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


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


** The decision to ban Glasgow residents on low incomes from spending any of the £110 shopping gift card they will receive as part of the Scottish Government COVID-19 recovery package has sparked debate in the city. More than 84,500 households who qualify for council tax reduction are due to get the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card in May, but participants cannot spend it on tobacco.

Labour councillor Malcolm Gunning called on participants to receive cash instead, arguing that the scheme implied that the poor could not be trusted to choose to spend their own money on non-tobacco products. However, at a meeting of Glasgow City Council, councillors agreed that spending money on tobacco would not be an appropriate use of the card. The ban on use of the card on tobacco products was originally proposed as an amendment by Conservative councillors.

Councillors at the meeting did acknowledge that the tobacco exemption might be difficult to enforce. There are currently 184 shops accepting the card in Glasgow and plans to recruit many more businesses to participate before the scheme is fully rolled out. The Conservatives also proposed an amendment banning people from buying alcohol with the vouchers, but this was rejected by the council. The accepted Conservative amendment also calls for officers to look at excluding national chains from the shops participating in the scheme to boost regional businesses.

SNP leader of the Council Susan Aitken said: “As a country we have made a decision that we significantly restrict people’s access to tobacco whether through the smoking ban or advertising restrictions and display. As a council, when we are providing this money it is entirely appropriate that we follow the public health policies that have been in place in Scotland for many years.”

Source: Glasgow Live, 10 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


** International
------------------------------------------------------------


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


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


** Tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco has been accused of allowing cigarettes to be sold cheaply in Laos through a special agreement with the country’s government. Imperial has forged a tax agreement with state-owned Laos Tobacco which means that cigarettes can cost as little as 25p per packet, according to researchers at the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group.

Researchers claimed that the agreement is encouraging children to start smoking. A similar packet of cigarettes can cost around £12.50 in the UK and there are strict laws preventing them being promoted to children. One tobacco campaigner said that the deal means Laos has lost more than £140m in tax revenue from the deal it struck with Imperial. In a statement, Imperial said that the tax deal alongside their investment had saved Laos Tobacco from bankruptcy.

Dr Maniphanh Vongphosy of the Asian Tobacco Control Alliance said: "Young people do smoke here - 13 to 15% of young people are smoking. It's not only the low price and the high affordability. Tobacco companies put their products in colourful boxes next to sugar or something the children can access."
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Source: BBC News, 9 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


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


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


** A new report from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has found that more than 2.5 million students aged 11-18 in the US used either a tobacco product or an e-cigarette in 2021. The CDC reports that 13% of high school students and 4% of middle school students used products last year, whilst more than a third of high school students have used them at some point in their lives.

The report included e-cigarettes in its definition of tobacco products, even though e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco. More than 80% of the overall usage of tobacco products was attributed to disposable e-cigarettes and pod or cartridge products. The CDC gathered data from high schoolers and middle schoolers across the US through the National Youth Tobacco Survey, defining any child who had used a tobacco product in the past 30 days as a ‘current’ user. Around 2 million high schoolers and 470,000 middle schoolers overall reported being ‘current’ users of tobacco products.

However, teen smoking in the US is not nearly as prevalent as it was in previous decades. In 2020 the CDC reported that 8% of high schoolers and 3% of middle schoolers were current tobacco users. The survey also shows vaping has declined compared to past two years.

Source: Daily Mail, 10 March 2022

See also: CDC - Youth and Tobacco Use ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


** Parliamentary Activity
------------------------------------------------------------


**

PQs 1&2: Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards

Asked by Mary Glindon, Labour, North Tyneside

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2021 to Question 84415, on Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards, if he will publish his assessment of the reasons for the risks of adverse health outcomes caused by snus being far lower than smoking.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the article in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Patterns of Smoking and Snus Use in Sweden: Implications for Public Health, published in November 2016, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that article that the availability and use of snus has been a major factor behind Sweden’s record-low prevalence of smoking.

Answered by Maggie Throup, Public Health Minister

No formal assessment of the article has been made. The Department holds no assessment of adverse health outcomes caused by snus compared to smoking. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the market. Alternative tobacco-free products are available, such as nicotine pouches.

Source: Hansard ([link removed]) , 10 March 2022

PQ3: Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 15 November (HL3287), why they have referred to the Food and Drug Administration's 2016 assessment of the health risks associated with using snus, rather than the 2019 assessment.

Answered by Lord Kamall, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences

In the Written Answer of 15 November 2021, we incorrectly provided the 2016 assessment of the health risks associated with the use of snus. We have arranged for the record to be corrected. A copy of Scientific Review of Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application (MRTPA) Under Section 911 (d) of the FD&C Act – Technical Project Lead published in 2019 is attached.

Source: Hansard ([link removed]) , 10 March 2022
------------------------------------------------------------


** Links of the Week
------------------------------------------------------------


**

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


** The Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control is a high-level statement of an organisation’s commitment to the comprehensive tobacco control measures needed to achieve the Government’s latest target for a Smokefree England by 2030. The Declaration was originally produced in 2013, led by Newcastle City Council, but was this week (Wednesday 9 March) relaunched to coincide with No Smoking Day and to reflect the Government’s smokefree 2030 commitment. It already has over 120 signatories with current signatories rolling over. New signatories are able to sign up here ([link removed].) . Resources supporting signatories are available here
([link removed].) .
------------------------------------------------------------


**

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


** The NHS Smokefree Pledge ([link removed]) is a visible way for NHS organisations to show their commitment to tobacco control. It has also been renewed to bring it into line with the Government’s ambition for England to be smokefree by 2030 and with commitments made to improve smoking cessation support available through the NHS in the NHS Long Term Plan. Existing signatories remain signed-up but are also encouraged to renew their commitment to the Pledge and to review their activities in light of the Long Term Plan. Resources are available here ([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])