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** 28 April 2022
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** UK
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** Eight shops in Kent closed in illegal tobacco sales investigation (#1)
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** International
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** India: Give bidi cigarette rollers a voice to find new jobs, researchers say (#2)
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** Smoking rates fall among Americans with depression and substance use disorders, study finds (#3)
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** USA: Ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars could save hundreds of thousands of lives, experts say (#4)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Backbench debate: Smokefree 2030 (#5)
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** UK
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** Eight shops in Kent closed in illegal tobacco sales investigation

Eight shops in Gravesend, Kent, all believed to be involved in the sale of illegal tobacco, have been served with closure notices ahead of a court hearing where closure orders will be sought.

The action by Gravesham Borough Council, supported by Kent Police, KCC Trading Standards and HMRC, is believed to be the largest co-ordinated closure of such stores by a local authority in the UK, the authority said in a statement.

The notices, issued under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, ban all of the premises from trading ahead of a hearing at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court scheduled for this Friday (29^th April). All eight have been sealed up by Gravesham council.

The decision to seek closure orders comes after a number of stores were visited as part of Operation Puggle last year, during which a number of vulnerable people were removed to places of safety and a substantial amount of illegal tobacco products confiscated.

Source: Kent Online, 27 April 2022
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Read Article ([link removed] )


** International
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** India: Give bidi cigarette rollers a voice to find new jobs, researchers say

According to a new study, India’s bidi cigarette workers need to be at the heart of discussions about finding alternatives to working in the tobacco industry.

Bidis are hand-rolled leaf cigarettes and are the main way tobacco is smoked in India. 90% of workers are women, who largely work from home, and earn a lower-than-average wage of approximately £1.50 (approximately 150 Indian rupees) for rolling up to 1,000 bidis each day.

Bidi production can cause a number of health issues for workers and their families, while children are also sometimes enlisted by bidi rollers to help meet targets.

New research by the Bidi Workers’ Alternative Livelihoods Project – which includes partners in India, the UK and the USA – has found that despite awareness of the industry’s adverse effects, bidi rollers saw the work as convenient in the absence of different jobs that could fit around other commitments such as cooking or childcare.

Workers would be more inclined to consider other work if they were involved in shaping the alternative employment available. This would help create new jobs that provided workers with better conditions and suited their personal circumstances, the researchers said.

The study also highlights that bidi rolling fits the remit of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ([link removed]) , Article 17, which aims to provide economically viable alternative jobs to tobacco. India and the UK are both signatories to the Convention.

Research co-author Professor Andrew Russell, of the Department of Anthropology, Durham University, said: “Bidi rolling is an exploitative source of income across South Asia and a discriminatory occupation. However, despite being aware of the negative impacts of their work, some of the workers we spoke to said that bidi rolling is the best option for their current situation when there aren’t many alternatives available.”

“That’s why it’s hugely important for bidi rollers to be at the centre of discussions about alternative employment that would allow them to bring in an income through a job that is less harmful to health while also suiting their circumstances.”

Source: Science Magazine, 28 April 2022
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** See also: Nicotine Tobacco Research - Implementing FCTC Article 17 through Participatory Research with Bidi Workers in Tamil Nadu, India ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Smoking rates fall among Americans with depression and substance use disorders, study finds
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People who struggle with depression and substance use disorders tend to show higher rates of smoking than the general adult population, but a new study finds that smoking rates among these populations in the USA have fallen significantly since 2006.

Researchers analysed data from more than 558,000 adults 18 and older who took part in the 2006 to 2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. People with major depression or substance use disorder, or both, were more likely to smoke cigarettes than those without these disorders.

But after controlling for factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, education and family income, the researchers found that during the study period, past-month smoking rates declined by 13.1% among adults with past-year major depression and by 8.2% among adults without major depression. The difference in past-month smoking between those with past-year major depression and those without narrowed from 11.5% in 2006 to 6.6% in 2019.

Co-author Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) said, “This study shows us that at a population-level, reductions in tobacco use are achievable for people with psychiatric conditions, and smoking cessation should be prioritized along with treatments for substance use, depression and other mental health disorders for people who experience them”.

“Therapies to help people stop smoking are safe, effective and may even enhance the long-term success of concurrent treatments for more severe mental health symptoms in individuals with psychiatric disorders by lowering stress, anxiety, depression and by improving overall mood and quality of life”.

Source: United Press International, 27 April 2022
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See also: JAMA Network - Trends in Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking Among US Adults With Major Depression or Substance Use Disorders, 2006-2019 ([link removed])
Read Article ([link removed])


** USA: Ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars could save hundreds of thousands of lives, experts say
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to announce a proposal this week to ban menthol from cigarettes, as well as to ban flavoured cigars; a step that public health officials say is essential to protect public health.

"I'm really excited about the possibility. At our foundation, we've cared about issues of smoking and preventable deaths for so long," said Dr. Richard Besser, a former director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention who now serves as the president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a public health advocacy organisation.

"To see an issue that disproportionately affects African American smokers, disproportionately affects women, LGBT people who smoke, lower-income individuals. To say that these lives count just as much as any other life and a preventable death, that gives me real, real hope."

About 18.6 million people smoke menthols in the US (approximately 36% of all smokers), according to the FDA, and a disproportionate number are people of colour. About 30% of White smokers choose menthols, but they are by far the cigarette of choice for nearly 85% of smokers who are Black. About 40% of women smoke menthols, compared with 31% of men, according to the FDA.

LGBTQ people are also significantly more likely to smoke menthols. A 2013 study that looked at data from the CDC's 2009-10 National Adult Tobacco survey found that 36% of LGBTQ smokers chose menthols, compared with 29.3% of straight smokers.

Congress banned flavoured cigarettes with the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, with the exception of menthol. The same act gave the FDA the authority to regulate the tobacco industry to protect public health. That regulation allows the FDA to enact product standards to limit the toxicity, appeal and addictiveness of tobacco. The law also requires the FDA to conduct and fund research on menthol and gives the agency the authority to ban it if appropriate.

In the more than a decade that the FDA has been looking into the issue, there have been several slow steps toward a ban.

"This is long-awaited. The evidence has been there for years," said Robin Koval, CEO and president of the Truth Initiative, an organization dedicated to geting young people to reject smoking, vaping and nicotine.

Source: CNN, 27 April 2022
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Parliamentary Activity
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** Backbench debate: Smokefree 2030

On Tuesday 26th April, Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health, and Mary Kelly Foy MP, Vice-chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health, led a backbench debate to discuss the government’s progress towards a Smokefree 2030. Below is a summary of what was covered within the debate.

Bob Blackman MP ([link removed]) opened the debate by highlighting the urgent need for more funding to deliver the Government’s smokefree 2030 ambition and called on the Government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy to raise funds from tobacco companies.

Mary Kelly Foy MP ([link removed]) highlighted the government’s lack of progress towards publication of Javed Khan’s Independent Review and urged the Minister to promise that the Tobacco Control Plan will be delivered no later than 3 months after the independent review.

Alex Cunningham MP ([link removed]) , vice-chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health, spoke about the substantial profits made by tobacco manufacturers and urged the Government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy to make tobacco companies pay for the damage they do.

Liz Twist MP ([link removed]) spoke about the detrimental impact smoking has on the health and economic productivity of more deprived areas like Gateshead and called for more support to help pregnant women and people with mental health conditions quit smoking.

Hywel Williams MP ([link removed]) and Jim Shannon MP ([link removed])
spoke about how Westminster can better support tobacco control efforts in the devolved nations and across the UK.

Responding on behalf of Labour, Andrew Gwynne MP ([link removed]) , Shadow Public Health Minister, spoke about the strong cross-party support for tobacco control and assured the Minister that a robust tobacco control plan would have Labour's full support. He urged the Minister to set out a timeline for the publication of the next Tobacco Control Plan.

In her response, Public Health Minister Maggie Throup MP ([link removed]) said that
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** Government is committed to doing more to tackle health inequalities and make England smokefree
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** HM Treasury will continue to enforce high taxation to reduce the affordability of tobacco
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** Government will continue to review options to raise funding for tobacco control with HM Treasury through development of the Tobacco Control Plan
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** Government will continue to explore ways to move smokers onto alternative nicotine products such as vapes
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** Javed Khan’s Independent Review of tobacco control will be published in May and will inform the Health Disparities white paper in the summer and the Tobacco Control Plan later in the year
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** The UK is a global leader in tobacco control and remains fully committed to the WHO FCTC
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** The Government is fully committed to the Smokefree 2030 ambition
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**
Source: Hansard, 26 April 2022

You can watch the recording here ([link removed] ) and read the full transcript ([link removed] ) here.
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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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