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** 1 April 2022
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** UK
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** Directors step down after Vectura tobacco takeover (#1)
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** Opinion: Progress on reducing smoking during pregnancy has stalled, here’s what must be done (#2)
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** Health plan underway for Nottingham women after shock ‘healthy life expectancy’ figure (#3)
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** IfG: Levelling up missions 'will not reduce regional inequality' (#4)
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** Links of the Week
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** Asthma + Lung UK: Clearing the Smoke (#5)
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** NHS Digital: Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery (#6)
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** ASH Webinar: Metrics for the NHS LTP tobacco treatment pathway (#7)
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** UK
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** Directors step down after Vectura tobacco takeover

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** The two most senior directors of the respiratory drugs firm, Vectura, at the time of its £1 billion takeover by Philip Morris International have stepped down.

Will Downie and Paul Fry quit their respective roles as chief executive and chief financial officer following the completion of the deal with the maker of Marlboro cigarettes last year. The bid provoked a fierce backlash from public health experts.

Vectura, which is based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 before the takeover, is a developer of inhalers and medicines for smoking-related conditions. It was founded in 1997 as a biotech company to commercialise respiratory pharmaceutical technologies originating from Bath University and floated on the junior Aim market in 2004.

A coalition of public health bodies, clinicians and charities wrote to Vectura’s shareholders and its board warning that the takeover by the US cigarette company could “significantly hamper Vectura’s ability to continue operating as a viable, research-oriented business”.
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**
Source: The Times, 1 April 2022
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Opinion: Progress on reducing smoking during pregnancy has stalled, here’s what must be done
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**
To increase the rate of decline of maternal smoking, Woolnough urges for more women, regardless of pregnancy, to be given stop-smoking support and for the age of sale for cigarettes to be raised from 18 to 21, as younger women are more likely to smoke in pregnancy. In addition, she argues there needs to be greater investment in stop-smoking services and for at least one specialist midwife in treating tobacco addiction to be present in every NHS trust, along with a support team and annual training for all midwives. Finally, Woolnough argues, “with NHS and local authority budgets stretched further than ever before, it’s time for a polluter pays levy on the tobacco industry so they’re made to pay to clean up the harm they cause.”

Woolnough argues that, despite the government setting a target to reduce smoking in pregnancy to less than 6% by 2022 in its 2017 Tobacco Control Plan, progress in this area has stalled and current rates are estimated at around 9%. Woolnough goes on to highlight funding cuts to Local Authority stop-smoking services as a key cause for this stall, as well as a “lack of ownership within maternity services”.

Woolnough highlights one of the significant health risks of smoking during pregnancy: premature birth, which can place babies at a higher risk of developing asthma, due disruptions in their lungs developing properly. She states that these children are more likely to smoke later in life and subsequently experience lung conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Sarah Woolnough, CEO of Asthma + Lung UK, discusses what needs to be done to reduce rates of smoking during pregnancy as the government’s 2017 Tobacco Control Plan reaches its conclusion.
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Source: Health Services Journal, 30 March 2022
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Health plan underway for Nottingham women after shock ‘healthy life expectancy’ figure

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** Lucy Hubber, Public Health Director for Nottingham, spoke at a health and well-being board meeting on Wednesday, March 30: “We will develop these plans and come back to this group on how we are going to make this strategy live off the page. We need all partners to come together and offer their resources to make a difference.”

A health plan is now being developed to tackle health inequality up to March 2025. Four priorities will make up the plan – smoking and tobacco control, including cannabis use, obesity and healthy eating, severe multiple disadvantage such as homelessness and substance abuse and financial wellbeing such as stress and money worries.

Residents living in the poorest areas of Nottingham are dying 12 years earlier than those in the more affluent areas.

Figures also show tobacco use is the leading cause of death and disability across Nottingham, followed by high body mass index. Diabetes, poor diets, high blood pressure, as well as alcohol and drug use are some of the other factors contributing to early deaths.

‘Healthy life expectancy’ is just 56 for female Nottingham city residents. This is the second lowest in the UK, just behind Blackpool, whilst life expectancy for women in Nottingham is 81.

Public health experts are planning to target smoking, diets, lifestyles and personal money problems as part of efforts to turn around a trend of poor health among women in Nottingham.
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Source: Notts TV, 31 March 2022
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Read Article ([link removed])


** IfG: Levelling up missions 'will not reduce regional inequality'
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**
In response, a government spokesperson argued: “We reject the conclusions of this report, the missions we set out are underpinned by robust analysis and metrics. They are targeted and measurable and we will publish an annual report to track and monitor their progress.”

In the 27-page report published on the 30 March, the IfG said: "The government’s 12 levelling up ‘missions’ – targets to be achieved by 2030 across a range of policy areas from crime to health to housing – will not reduce regional inequality.”

But further investigation by the IfG concludes that only four of the missions are clear, ambitious and set with appropriate metrics, whilst five of the missions are not ambitious enough, with little or no change needed to achieve them.

Included in the 12 missions are ambitions to improve living standards, research and development, transport infrastructure, digital connectivity, education, skills, health, wellbeing, pride in place, housing, crime and local leadership.

In February, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities released the levelling up white paper, which outlined the government’s plans to improve outcomes across the country.

The government’s 12 levelling up missions will not have a positive impact on regional inequality, a report by the Institute for Government (IfG) claims.
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Source: LGC, 31 March 2022

See also: Institute for Government - Will the levelling up missions help reduce regional inequality? ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed] )


** Links of the Week
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** Asthma + Lung UK: Clearing the Smoke

Asthma +Lung UK have released a new report, “Clearing the Smoke: Levelling up health by stamping out tobacco”, which explores the link between smoking and health disparities and outlines recommendations for the government in the context of its Levelling Up White Paper:

The report shows that:
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** In a world without smoking the life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest communities would shrink in half
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** On its own, action to significantly cut smoking rates has the potential to deliver the levelling up goal of adding five years of healthy life expectancy by 2035
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** Without action on smoking this ambition is unlikely to be achieved
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** Smoking is also directly related to the levelling up missions around productivity and wellbeing
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Read Report ([link removed] )


** NHS Digital: Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of Delivery

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** NHS Digital released statistics on women's smoking status at time of delivery (SATOD) for England, Quarter 3, 2021-22 on Thursday, 24 March. The main findings were:
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** Smoking at the time of delivery for the period 01 Apr 2021 to 31 Dec 2021 was 8.8%
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** This is a slight decrease from the previous quarter 2 rate of 9.0% and a continued decrease from the annual 2020-21 SATOD of 9.6%.
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** Despite the recent downward trend, limited progress over recent years makes it very unlikely that the ambition set in the last tobacco control plan (6% or less by the end of 2022) will be achieved
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View Statistics ([link removed])


** ASH Webinar: Metrics for the NHS LTP tobacco treatment pathway

This webinar sets out the key metrics for the NHS Long Term Plan tobacco dependence treatment pathways in acute, maternity, and mental health settings.
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Watch Recording ([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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