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** 26 April 2022
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** UK
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** Vaping in schools: how concerned should we be? (#1)
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** Swansea beach joins smoke-free campaign (#2)
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** International
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** USA: How Big Tobacco used George Floyd and Eric Garner to stoke fear among Black smokers (#3)
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** China plans to strictly control e-cigarette production (#4)
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** UK
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** Vaping in schools: how concerned should we be?
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**
Anecdotal reports from teachers suggest that underage e-cigarette use is becoming increasingly common.

It is illegal for children under the age of 18 to purchase or use e-cigarettes but that doesn't seem to stop younger pupils using them. Sarah, an English teacher and behavioural leader at a secondary school in the North of England, says that at her school the problem is most common in Years 10 and 11, but that it is affecting Year 8 and 9 pupils too.

The most recent figures from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that 11.2% of 11 to 17 year-olds in the UK tried vaping in 2021, though is less common in under 16’s; 6.5% of 11- to 15-year-olds have tried vaping while, for 16-17 year olds, that rises to 23.2 %, and for 18-year-olds, it's just under a third.

Although Ash's findings suggest that few children and young people vape to look "cool" (just 1.2% of 11 to 18 year-olds cited this as a reason for e-cigarette use), Sarah believes that social media is responsible for normalising and glamorising the activity.

However, Deborah Arnott, chief executive at ASH, argues the scale of the problem is not yet critical. She says that whilst in the US, there's "hysteria" about vaping being an "epidemic" among young children, "we don't see that evidence so much in the UK".

For Arnott , the greater worry will always be children and young people who smoke conventional cigarettes. "Vaping in schools is clearly undesirable: it's not risk-free, it's age restricted and schools need to take firm action to stop it happening," she says.

"However, at the same time, it is important that teachers make clear to children that by far the greatest risk to their health is from smoking. Two-thirds of those trying just one cigarette go on to become daily smokers and half of long-term smokers die prematurely after having suffered years of serious disease and disability caused by smoking."

That isn't to say that teachers should turn a blind eye to pupils sneaking off to vape behind the bike sheds - rather that keeping cigarettes out of schools should still be the most pressing concern.

Source: Tes Magazine, 22 April 2022
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** Swansea beach joins smoke-free campaign

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** Port Eynon has become Swansea’s third beach to join the Smoke-free Beaches campaign, an initiative which seeks to limit the harms of cigarette waste on local wildlife and the environment.

As from April this year, visitors to the beach will be encouraged to not smoke via a voluntary no-smoking initiative, which will be signposted at the beach’s main entry points. The voluntary change will seek to reduce cigarette litter, in a bid to protect the coastline for future generations to come.

Discarded cigarette butts remain a big problem in Wales, with the latest Marine Conservation Society survey revealing that Welsh beaches held the highest amount of cigarette butt litter in Great Britain in 2021. The survey found an average of 64.2 cigarette butts per 100 metres of Welsh beach in 2021, a stark rise from 9.5 in 2020, and 32.6 in 2019.

The new Smoke-free initiative has been spearheaded by tobacco control organisation ASH Wales. The charity has worked closely with Swansea Council, who have shown support for the green initiative.

ASH Wales CEO Suzanne Cass has praised the Council for its proactive approach to the environment. She said: "We are delighted that Swansea Council have taken proactive steps in protecting the coastline, which will aid wider efforts to create a greener and more sustainable Wales."

"The smoke-free initiative will encourage visitors to think about how cigarette waste can affect the environment, and the wildlife that call the coastline home. I would encourage other councils across Wales to consider how they too can make a difference."
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Source: Wales 247, 26 April 2022

See also: ASH Wales - Smokefree Beaches ([link removed])
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** International
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** USA: How Big Tobacco used George Floyd and Eric Garner to stoke fear among Black smokers
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In response to bans on menthol cigarettes across the US, Reynolds American – the largest manufacturer of menthol cigarettes in America – is exploiting fears about police brutality to create opposition to future menthol bans.

About 150 US cities and counties have placed some restriction on the sale of menthol cigarettes, most issuing an outright ban. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has drafted a national ban that could follow in the next few years, which estimates it could save more than 600,000 lives, including almost 250,000 Black lives. Tobacco-related cancers claim 40,000 Black lives each year, at a rate 17% higher than that for whites and 74% higher than for Asians and Latinos, according to most recent data.

A national menthol ban could cut the approximately 30 billion Newport menthol cigarettes Reynolds American sells every year to zero.

Since last summer, the Los Angeles Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism have tracked strategic efforts across the country by Reynolds American to keep menthol cigarettes in the hands of smokers.

The company has hired a team of Black lobbyists and consultants, including former congressman Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), and sponsored the organisation led by civil rights activist and MSNBC political show host the Rev. Al Sharpton. Those figures have in turn stoked fears among Black communities about what the bans could mean.

Reynolds American for years has enlisted prominent Black personalities in its lobbying efforts. This investigation has uncovered new details about how individuals and organisations working on Reynolds’ behalf have failed to properly declare their links to the company. Lobbyists for the company in Denver successfully killed a bill that would have banned menthol cigarettes. And in Los Angeles, protesters were paid to attend a rally organised by a group with close ties to the company.

"The web that keeps menthol present in cities is not an accident. It’s not driven by some kind of innate Black taste for menthol," said Keith Wailoo, a history professor at Princeton University and author of "Pushing Cool," a book about menthol cigarettes. "It is a byproduct of a complex and relentless story of how markets were built and sustained."

Source: Los Angeles Times, 25 April 2022
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** China plans to strictly control e-cigarette production
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** China's tobacco regulator issued draft regulations on Monday to strictly control e-cigarette production in the country, as it tightens oversight over the industry.

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration said it would "reasonably" control the scale of production capacity to prevent overcapacity.

It also said it would ban any foreign investment in retail of e-cigarette products and would review foreign investment in production, adding that any e-cigarette firms that wanted to list in China or abroad would need to obtain pre-approval.

Source: Daily Mail, 25 April 2022
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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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