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Boris Johnson could cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs
Boris Johnson has demanded his cabinet comes up with a plan which could cut up to 91,000 civil service jobs to free up cash to tackle the cost of living.
The government is trying to get back to 2016 levels of staffing before Brexit and the pandemic, according to Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. He described a suggested saving of £3.75bn a year as "realistic". But a civil service union has warned the "ill thought-out" plan should affect services.
FDA general secretary Dave Penman said the government could decide to cut the civil service back to 2016 levels, but he said it would also have to choose "what the reduced civil service will no longer have the capacity to do" which may affect services such as passports, border control or health.
"Without an accompanying strategy, these cuts appear more like a continuation of the government's civil service culture wars - or even worse, ill-thought out, rushed job slashes that won't lead to a more cost-effective government," Penman added.
Source: BBC News, 13 May 2022
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Social care: Half a million adults waiting for help in England
The number of adults waiting for social care in England has risen sharply to more than 500,000, according to a survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass).
Adass's survey went to directors of adult social services in all of England's 152 councils, and 94 responded. The researchers extrapolated the numbers whose needs were not being met in those 94 councils, concluding that 506,131 people, across England, are waiting for: a social care assessment, care to begin, and a review of their care.
Although 16% more hours of home care are being delivered across England, this is dwarfed by an almost sevenfold increase in hours that cannot be delivered, because of a shortage of care workers.
"We're seeing a devastating impact on people's lives," said Adass president Sarah McClinton.
Adass blames a growing shortage of care workers, made worse by low pay rates and the cost-of-living crisis. It means that while growing numbers of people need care and their needs are increasingly complex, capacity is not keeping pace, the organisation adds.
Source: BBC News, 13 May 2022
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WHO accuses tobacco industry of “greenwashing” in new report
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and STOP, a global tobacco watchdog, outlines how the tobacco industry has been working to rehabilitate its image by showcasing sustainability efforts that the WHO and STOP claim is a form of “greenwashing.”
The term, “greenwashing” refers to a form of disinformation published by an organisation to appear to be environmentally friendly and is a common practice in numerous industries.
“This kind of activity gives the impression that the tobacco industry is socially and environmentally responsible,” the report warns. “Yet this industry is causing an incalculable toll on health to smokers, non-smokers and farmers. And not only is tobacco harming humans, it is also damaging the environment.”
The website of British American Tobacco (BAT), for example, promotes news releases with headlines such as, “BAT in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 20th Consecutive Year” and “BAT recognized as Climate Leader by the Financial Times”. Philip Morris International (PMI) has a full sustainability landing page on its website that outlines everything from a low-carbon transition plan to “achieving a smoke-free future” that the company says can be done in a sustainable manner.
The WHO and STOP report points out, however, that many environmental, social and governance (ESG) rankings and accreditations, like the ones BAT and PMI promote on their websites, rarely consider a company’s end-product or service, in this case, ignoring the fact that tobacco products are harmful to human health.
Among its recommendations, the report says it is calling on all governments, especially those who are members of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to ban greenwashing activities. It is also calling on environmental and sustainability accreditation organisations not to endorse industry greenwashing or provide awards to the tobacco industry.
Source: ABC News, 12 May 2022
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US: Three-fifths of smokers diagnosed with head and neck cancer still used cigarettes two years after treatment, study finds
Most smokers diagnosed with head and neck cancer continue to smoke two years after treatment, a new study finds.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota tracked 89 people in their 60s who smoked at least five cigarettes a day when they were diagnosed with head and neck cancer between 2009 and 2017.
Participants had been smoking for at least 16 years on average and had attempted to quit about five times. In the first six months after surgery 32 smokers quit, but 52 continued to use cigarettes.
By the two years mark, of the patients still alive there were 23 (40%) who had smoked at diagnosis but since quit. Over this period eight smokers who managed to quit later relapsed. A total of 27 patients died.
The researchers concluded: “The results of this cohort study suggest that a significant proportion of patients with head and neck cancer who are daily smokers at the time of diagnosis continue to smoke after treatment. Those who successfully quit smoking were most likely to do so in the first six months after treatment, which could potentially serve as a preferred window for smoking cessation interventions.”
Source: Daily Mail, 12 May 2022
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Opinion: End the deadly hold of menthol cigarettes over African American communities
Writing for the Detroit Free Press, Rev. Horace Sheffield discusses the devastating impact of menthol cigarettes on the African American community in Detroit and Newport, US.
Sheffield highlights the disproportionate use of menthol cigarettes (70%) in the African American community in Detroit and Newport and argues that marketing for menthol cigarettes has historically targeted black communities, “under the guise of supporting the African American community”.
If Barack Obama’s 2009 Tobacco Control Act had included a ban on menthol cigarettes, 320,000 deaths would have been avoided by 2050, Sheffield states.
Sheffield concludes by highlighting the importance of “No Menthol Sunday” on the 15th May, a national campaign in the US to raise awareness of the harms of menthol cigarettes, stating: “as long as Big Tobacco continues to put profits over people, commerce over conscience, and money over morals, we will remain in this deadly predicament”.
Source: Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2022
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Blog: Smokefree 2030?
Ruth Tennant, Board Member, Association of Directors of Public Health and Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive, ASH, discuss the current landscape of smoking and tobacco control ahead of the launch of Integrated Care Systems in England on 1st July.
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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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