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Scottish Government's potential vaping advert ban could impact smokefree ambitions, argue trade bodies
A proposed ban on vaping adverts by the Scottish Government has been criticised by trade bodies and vaping industry figures who have said it will hit smaller retailers financially and damage the Scottish Government's smokefree ambitions by reducing the numbers of smokers who switch to vaping.
A public consultation launched by the Scottish Government on 3rd February, which has now closed, sought to gauge support for more restrictions in Scotland on advertising vaping products, such as banning their promotion in-store, stopping billboard and hoardings ads and banning them from sponsoring activities, events, teams or people.
Maree Todd, the minister for public health has said: “Reducing exposure to the promotion of vape products is the best way to protect non-smokers, young people and children from experimenting with these products.”
Ms Todd added that once the consultation has ended, responses will be analysed before any changes are made to current regulations.
Source: The Scottish Daily Express, 5 May 2022
Editorial Note: The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF), who have both opposed the consultation, have strong ties to the tobacco industry – British American Tobacco (BAT), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Philip Morris International (PMI) are all paying members of the ACS and SGF. The SGF has a history of campaigning against public health measures in Scotland.
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London: Illegal vapes aimed at children seized in West End raids after Standard probe
Thousands of illegal vapes aimed at children have been seized in raids on Oxford Street, following an Evening Standard investigation.
Trading Standards and Met Police officers intervened after they were alerted to the sale of Geek Bar Pros containing twice the legal limit of nicotine.
Westminster city council removed £58,000 worth of illicit e-cigarettes and counterfeit goods in sealed evidence bags from two businesses last Tuesday.
Shops in the West End were reportedly caught openly selling Geek Bar Pros to teenagers without asking for proof of age. It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to anyone under 18 or to sell devices with nicotine levels over 2ml.
A Westminster spokesman said 4,000 individual items were impounded. This included 2,026 vaping devices that contained excessive levels of nicotine and 336 unlabelled packets of banned Snus tobacco.
Raj Mistry, executive director of environment and city management said: “This raid revealed a shocking amount of illegal, counterfeit and potentially dangerous products.”
“We are putting these questionable traders on notice that they will not be tolerated in our city. Westminster city council is committed to working with the police and other agencies to ensure that illegal or counterfeit goods are removed from the shelves.”
Source: The Evening Standard, 4 May 2022
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Cigarettes linked as 'top factor' for fatal fires, according to Dorset fire crews
Cigarettes and related materials to smoking have been highlighted by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Rescue Service (DWFRS) as the 'top factor' in fatal fires.
As a result, people who smoke are being urged to quit, or encourage friends and family who smoke to stop.
A spokesman from DWFRS said: “Smoking-related materials have been the top factor in fatal fires for many years.”
“The best way to prevent such fires is to stop smoking. If you’re caring for someone who smokes - start by encouraging them to quit.”
Source: Dorset Echo, 6 May 2022
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Jamaica: Tobacco Control Bill to be tabled shortly
Comprehensive legislation is due to be tabled in Jamaica’s House of Representatives shortly to address the devastating effects of tobacco consumption.
According to a press release, the Tobacco Control 2020 Bill will, among other things, impose restrictions on the marketing of tobacco products, as well as prohibit the sale to children.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, said that the legislation is now at the committee stage “and I am happy to report that we are well advanced in that process".
“I expect over the next month, six weeks maybe, to table the comprehensive Bill, and I urge my colleagues to quickly pass this Bill for the protection of the Jamaican people and to reduce the cost of treatment," he said.
Source: Jamaica Observer, 4 May 2022
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‘Smoke-Free’ Cities and Islands — Sponsored by Philip Morris International
Writing in the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Andrei Ciurcanu and Alessia Cerantola discuss a new trend which sees Philip Morris International (PMI) sponsoring towns and municipalities and encouraging the cessation of smoking in exchange for the uptake of alternative PMI products:
The authors highlight the Greek island of Astypalea which, in 2018, became the first of PMI’s "smoke-free" communities with the support of PMI’s Greek subsidiary, Papastratos. The smoke-free accreditation was issued by TÜV, an Austrian certification firm.
Cirurcanu and Cerantola argue that the island’s "smoke-free" status is misleading, however, given no new restrictions on cigarettes were imposed and PMI’s smokeless tobacco device ‘IQOS’ was promoted on Facebook during the unveiling of Astyplea’s new "smoke-free scheme".
According to the authors, Astyplea was just the first of a growing PMI sponsorship trend with a large number of “municipalities, hotels, and companies from the Czech Republic to the Canary Islands” going "smoke-free" with the support of PMI.
However, according to Cirurcanu and Cerantola, the certification does not require any change to legislation to limit the sale or consumption of cigarettes, only the encouragement of residents to switch from cigarettes to PMI’s IQOS.
Tobacco control experts have reportedly likened the "smoke-free certification" to a “Trojan horse”, which enables PMI to potentially influence public health discussions. These partnerships are clear violations of the World Health Organization’s anti-smoking treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which forbids any cooperation between governments and the industry.
Louis Laurence, a researcher at the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group said, “Eroding the FCTC is good news for tobacco companies”. Laurence also argued that PMI’s larger goal with "smoke-free" destinations such as Astypalea is to “normalize the adoption of IQOS for those quitting cigarettes”.
Source: OCCRP, 5 May 2022
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Opinion: Replacing poetry with evidence based prose
Behavioural Scientist and Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit, Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, argues evidence based prose must replace 'poetic' stories to effectively support smoking cessation.
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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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