View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** 11 April 2022
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** GP numbers in England down every year since 2015 pledge to raise them (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Young adults have dramatic loss of faith in UK democracy, survey reveals (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------
** International
------------------------------------------------------------
** Barcelona introduces smoking ban on its beaches as tourists warned they could be fined (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Study: Almost 60% of hit songs include references to harmful substances (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** GP numbers in England down every year since 2015 pledge to raise them
------------------------------------------------------------
** The number of GPs in England has fallen every year since the government first pledged to increase the family doctor workforce by 5,000, health minister Maria Caulfield has admitted.
There were 29,364 full-time-equivalent GPs in post in September 2015, when the then health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, first promised to increase the total by 5,000 by 2020.
However, by September 2020 the number of family doctors had dropped to 27,939, a fall of 1,425, Caulfield disclosed in a parliamentary answer. And it has fallen even further since then, to 27,920, she confirmed, citing NHS workforce data.
Former health minister, Dr Dan Poulter MP, who tabled the question, said: “These figures are hugely worrying because they show that GP numbers in England have been falling, despite ministerial pledges to increase them.”
“GPs’ relentless workloads are clearly a major factor here. Patients and the entire NHS desperately need more family doctors, in order to reduce waiting times and ensure people who are ill get care, and referral on to hospital if needed, as soon as possible.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said Caulfield’s figures only related to fully qualified GPs, and that once trainees were included there were 1,672 more full-time-equivalent family doctors in December 2021 than December 2019.
------------------------------------------------------------
**
Source: The Guardian, 11 April 2022
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
** Young adults have dramatic loss of faith in UK democracy, survey reveals
------------------------------------------------------------
**
A dramatic loss of faith in the ability of British democracy to serve the interests of UK voters is revealed in a new report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and The Observer, that finds donors to political parties and big businesses are now commonly viewed by the electorate as the main drivers of government policy.
The study, entitled Road to Renewal, draws on YouGov polling of 3,442 adults, which found that just 6% of voters in elections in Great Britain believe their views are the main influences behind eventual decisions on policy taken by government ministers.
By contrast, more than four times as many (25%) believe major donors to political parties have the most influence over shaping policy, followed by business groups and corporations (16%), newspapers and the media (13%) and lobbyists and pressure groups (12%).
Just 2% cite trade unions as the main forces behind policy decisions, which the report’s authors note is “a remarkable shift since the 1970s and 1980s when concerns about overly powerful unions was widespread”. The polling was jointly commissioned by IPPR, the Electoral Reform Society and Unlock Democracy.
The study traces growing dissatisfaction with advanced democracies worldwide over recent decades, reflected in falling turnout at elections, falling party memberships, and more people switching loyalties, including to populist alternatives.
It calls for an urgent rethink by mainstream parties of how democracy works in the UK, including steps to reconnect citizens with politics and politicians through devolution of more powers. It calls for greater checks on executive power to safeguard representative democracy.
Young UK adults (18-24) are least likely to say democracy serves them well (just 19% say it operates well against 55% who say badly), while those aged 65 and over are most likely to say it is working for them (46% say well and 47% badly).
------------------------------------------------------------
** Source: The Guardian, 10 April
------------------------------------------------------------
** See also: IPPR - Road to renewal: Elections, parties and the case for democratic reform ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
** International
------------------------------------------------------------
** Barcelona introduces smoking ban on its beaches as tourists warned they could be fined
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** Smoking has been banned on all of Barcelona's beaches and those breaking the rules have been warned they face fines.
Four beaches became non-smoking areas last year as part of a well-received pilot scheme, with the smoking ban now being extended to all ten beaches along Barcelona's coastline.
Although the ban will come into force in July, Barcelona's city council has said a communications campaign will be launching this month to start raising awareness.
The council has said the trial attracted a score of 8.2 points out of 10 from citizens and led to a significant reduction in the number of cigarette butts left in the sand, which are highly pollutant.
Catalan Media report that 20% of the population in Barcelona smoke, with 10% doing so at the beach.
The ten beaches affected by the new rule cover just over three miles of coastline, with fines for anyone breaching the ban being set at €30.
Source: The Mirror, 9 April
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
** Study: Almost 60% of hit songs include references to harmful substances
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** Researchers from New York University and New York Harbour Healthcare System analysed chart hits between 2014 and 2020 to establish how many featured alcohol, drugs or cigarettes in their lyrics or videos. They found almost 60% of hit songs referenced harmful substances.
Lead researcher Stephanie Albert, assistant professor of population health at the New York University School of Medicine, told The Mail on Sunday: “Celebrities know that younger people look up to and emulate them.”
“We want to see far less of these substances depicted in music lyrics and videos. There are no health benefits for young people who use them, but there are certainly many risks and negative consequences.”
Her study concluded: “The depiction of alcohol, cigarettes, hookah (shisha) and marijuana in the lyrics and music videos of popular songs is a public health concern”, arguing that drugs, smoking and alcohol in music “may serve as a cue to consume those products and signal that smoking is a social norm.”
Source: Mail on Sunday, 9 April
------------------------------------------------------------
**
See also: Substance Use & Misuse - Comparing the Prevalence of Alcohol, Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes, Hookah, and Marijuana, in Music Videos across 6 Genres of Popular Music from 2014-2020 ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([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])
