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** 15 March 2022
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** UK
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** MP Steve Brine commits to a smokefree future (#1)
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** Seven in 10 meal deal snacks contain dangerously high salt, sugar, or fat (#2)
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** NHS struggling with 'long tail' of pandemic mental ill health (#3)
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** Newcastle council's Labour group elects Nick Kemp to replace Forbes (#4)
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** International
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** Cigarette maker Imperial Brands in talks to transfer Russian business (#5)
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** Shisha smoking banned in Cameroon (#6)
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** UK
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** Steve Brine MP, a former Public Health Minister, joined colleagues from across parliament, local government, NHS, and civil society on No Smoking Day (9 March) to affirm his commitment to securing the Government’s goal of a smokefree England by 2030 at an event in Parliament celebrating the 50th anniversary of ASH. The event was chaired by Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, and featured speeches from key leaders including current Public Health Minister Maggie Throup.

Throup committed to ensuring that stop smoking services were at the heart of the next Tobacco Control Plan and said that the Government was “determined to achieve our ambition to be smoke free by 2030” having “launched an independent review to look at ways to hit this target to level up the health of the nation and tackle inequalities.” Brine MP, who was Public Health Minister when the previous Tobacco Control Plan was published, said: "I worked closely with ASH when I was at the Department of Health and they have a fine pedigree of informing Government and helping us transition towards smoke free. We’ve done a lot in 50 years but, as ASH are well aware, we have a lot more to do starting with a new ambitious and deliverable Smokefree England plan this Spring."

The event saw the relaunch of the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control and the NHS Smokefree Pledge, two high-level documents revised to reflect the Government’s commitment to make England smokefree by 2030. Local organisations across local government and the NHS can sign these documents to show their support for the action needed to achieve a smokefree 2030.
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Source: Stevebrine.com, 9 March 2022

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** NHS Smokefree Pledge ([link removed].)
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** Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control ([link removed])
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** A new analysis by Action on Salt shows that seven in ten snacks sold as part of lunchtime meal deals in UK high street shops and supermarkets contain dangerously large amounts of salt, sugar, or saturated fats. The research found that the worst offenders include biscuits, cakes, and crisps. Action on Salt nutritionists analysed the content of 360 individual products typically found in meal deals, which usually consist of a sandwich or salad, snack, and a cold drink.

The analysis found that three in 10 products contain high levels of salt, which can contribute to high blood pressure - the single biggest cause of heart attacks and strokes. A packet of lemon and coriander green olives sold in the Co-op contained 2.02g of salt, the same as five portions of salted peanuts and a third of an adult’s daily recommended maximum salt intake of six grams.

The analysis found that meal deals in Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Boots, Co-op, Morrison’s, Asda, Subway, and Shell garages all include more salt than a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries. Cornish pasties, sausage rolls, chicken bites, and mini-Cheddars contained the most salt. Researchers found that 82% of meal snacks at Subway were high in saturated fat. Morrisons had the highest proportion of snacks, at 46%, which did not comply with Government salt reduction targets.

Graham McGregor, professor of cardiovascular health at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Action on Salt, called on supermarkets to reformulate their meal deal products to include less salt. The Government have been asking food manufacturers for several years to cut the amount of salt they add to their products by 2024. However, progress reports in 2018 and 2020 found that while some targets had been met, many had not.
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Source: The Guardian, 15 March 2022
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** A new analysis has suggested that the number of referrals for specialist NHS mental health care reached a record high in England by the end of 2021. The NHS Digital analysis found that there were 4.3 million referrals for conditions such as anxiety and depression in 2021. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says that Covid created unprecedented backlog with services struggling to keep up.

The NHS Digital data found a substantial increase in referrals from previous years, with the past two years each seeing about 3.8 million referrals. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says that the NHS delivered about 1.8 million mental health consultations in December 2021 alone as the Omicron Covid variant spread across the UK. However, it says that an estimated 1.4 million people are awaiting treatment with hundreds of adults being sent home for treatment due to lack of beds.

President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Dr Adrian James said: "As the pressure on services continues to ratchet up, the silence from government continues to be of grave concern for the college, the wider mental health workforce and most importantly our patients. Staff are working flat out to give their patients the support they need but the lack of resources and staff mean it's becoming an impossible situation to manage. We don't need warm words or empty commitments. We need a fully funded plan for mental-health services, backed by a long-term workforce plan, as the country comes to terms with the biggest hit to its mental health in generations."

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** Source: BBC News, 15 March 2022

See also: NHS Digital - Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, Performance December 2021, Provisional January 2022 ([link removed])
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** Nick Kemp has been elected as successor to Newcastle City Council’s Labour group leader Nick Forbes after Forbes chose to step down after being deselected from his seat ahead of the May election. Kemp immediately takes over leading the Labour group in Newcastle City Council and could be the council leader if the Labour party retains control of the council in the May elections.

Forbes had led the Labour group since 2007 and the council since 2011 but lost to local activist Abdul Samad in a party ward selection meeting in February. Forbes could have chosen to try to retain power in another seat but concluded that stepping aside was the “honourable choice” and said that staying in power would have looked like “clinging onto power at all costs”. Forbes, a more moderate ally of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, blamed an “ambush” by the Labour Party’s left wing for his defeat, saying he should have been given a week’s notice of challenge to his seat.

Kemp now takes over from Forbes, having previously challenged Forbes for the leadership in May 2021 and having quit the Cabinet in the council in 2020 over claims of “constant sniping” and “personal animosities” in the Labour group. During that bad-tempered split, Forbes claimed he had received "a number of complaints about Mr Kemp's behaviour". Kemp has previously run a public relations firm, has served on the council for 20 years, and has held responsibility for issues such as trading standards and environmental and regulatory services.

Kemp was elected new party leader by Labour members ahead of two other councillors. Forbes has been a key advocate for tobacco control, with Newcastle City Council a founding member of the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control under Forbes’ leadership in 2013.

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** Source: BBC News, 15 March 2022

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** See also: Chronicle Live - Nick Forbes on 'manipulated' council exit, Labour 'toxicity', and Newcastle's need for fresh ideas ([link removed])
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** International
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** Tobacco giant Imperial Brands has started talks to transfer its Russian business to a local third party, it revealed on Tuesday 14 March. Imperial joins British American Tobacco (BAT) in exiting the sanction-hit country following its invasion of Ukraine. Last week Imperial halted all sales and marketing activity in Russia and production at its factory in Volgograd, but it has now gone further.

Imperial did not give details about the third party it is in talks with or how the deal might be structured. The British company employs around 1,000 people in Russia and says it will continue to pay its staff until the transfer of its business is complete. BAT revealed last week that it would transfer its business, which employs around 2,500 people, to a third party. Imperial did not comment on its rationale for the transfer but BAT said last week that exiting its business or stopping sales or manufacturing would be regarded as criminal bankruptcy by Russia and allow Moscow to take legal action under local management, leaving the company with little choice.

Imperial, whose operations in Russia and Ukraine accounted for just 2% of its 32.79 billion pounds ($42.69 billion) of net revenue in fiscal 2021, flagged a small hit to annual revenue and profit from the exit. It expects revenue growth in 2022 to be flat to up 1% versus a prior forecast of growth of about 1.4% at constant currencies. Philip Morris also announced last week that it would suspend investment in Russia and scale down manufacturing in the country that accounts for almost 10% of its total cigarette and heated tobacco volumes.
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Source: Reuters, 15 March 2022
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Cameroon has become the latest African country, following Kenya, the Gambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana, to ban the smoking of shisha pipes. Cameroonian authorities said the ban was due to the risks that tobacco-based shisha poses to the mostly young people who use it in bars and at home. Shisha smoking is common in Africa and regulation is fast developing across the continent.

Health Ministry data show that around 46% of young Cameroonians smoke shisha. Shisha is often mistakenly believed to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but the British Heart Foundation says that an hour-long shisha session can equate to smoking more than 100 cigarettes and the WHO has linked the toxicants in shisha to heart and lung disease and cancer. As shisha traditionally contains tobacco, it also contains the same harmful chemicals.

Source: Africa News, 14 March 2022

See also: British Heart Foundation - Shisha ([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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