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** 17 May 2022
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** UK
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** E-cigarettes ‘as safe as nicotine patches’ for pregnant smokers trying to quit (#1)
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** William Hague: Obesity U-turn is weak, shallow and immoral (#2)
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** Poorest asthma patients make up third of Scotland's emergency hospital admissions (#3)
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** NHS prescription charge frozen to help ease cost-of-living crisis (#4)
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** International
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** Goldman Sachs Eyes $50 Million Payday on European Tobacco Deal (#5)
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** UK
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** E-cigarettes ‘as safe as nicotine patches’ for pregnant smokers trying to quit

E-cigarettes are as safe to use as nicotine patches for pregnant smokers trying to quit, and may be a more effective tool, a new study has revealed. Smoking in pregnancy can increase the risk of outcomes including premature birth, miscarriage and the infant low birth weight. But quitting can be a struggle.

While e-cigarettes have been found to be more effective than nicotine patches in helping people quit, Dr Francesca Pesola, an author of the new study based at Queen Mary University in London, noted, there has been little research into their effectiveness or safety among pregnant women, despite an increase in use by expectant mothers.

Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, Pesola and colleagues randomly assigned 569 pregnant smokers to use e-cigarettes and 571 to use nicotine patches. The participants were, on average, 15.7 weeks pregnant and smoked 10 cigarettes a day.

Only 40% of those given e-cigarettes and 23% of those given patches used their allocated product for at least four weeks. However, both uptake and duration of use during the study was higher among those given e-cigarettes.

Four weeks into their quit attempt 15 .4% of those given e-cigarettes self-reported they were not smoking, compared with 8.6% of those given patches, while 19.8% of the e-cigarette group self-reported abstinence at the end of pregnancy compared with 9.7% in the group given patches.

In addition the team found the rates of adverse events were similar between those given cigarettes and those given patches. What’s more, while the average birth weight of the babies was similar, low birth weights were more common in the patch group.

“We would only recommend the use of nicotine to smokers wanting to quit their regular cigarettes,” said Pesola.

But, she added: “Using an e-cigarette poses no greater risk to the mother or baby than nicotine patches, which are both better options than continuing to smoke throughout pregnancy.”

Source: The Guardian, 16 May 2022
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**
See also: Nature - Electronic cigarettes versus nicotine patches for smoking cessation in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial ([link removed])
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** William Hague: Obesity U-turn is weak, shallow and immoral
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** Writing for the Times, former leader of the Conservative party, William Hague, criticises Boris Johnson’s abandonment of measures aimed at tackling national obesity:

In particular, Hague cites Johnson’s move away from banning “Buy One Get One Free” deals and television advertising of junk food after 9pm, arguing these measures will likely join the 14 strategies and 689 policies ([link removed]) which have failed to adequately address national obesity since 1992.

Hague highlights how the abandonment of such policies will ultimately cost the UK economy more through increased healthcare costs, despite ministers using the cost-of-living crisis as justification for deserting these measures. Hague also counters some conservative’s “nanny state” claims with argument that consumers should be protected from misleading advertisements.

Hague concludes by accusing Conservative MPs who have argued in favour of abandoning the measures of “acquiescing in a future of higher dependence, greater costs, reduced lifestyle choice and endless pain”.
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Source: The Times, 16 May 2022
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** Poorest asthma patients make up third of Scotland's emergency hospital admissions
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** Analysis by charity Asthma + Lung UK Scotland has found people living in Scotland's most deprived neighbourhoods account for one in three emergency hospital admissions due to asthma.

Factors such as air pollution, exposure to tobacco smoke, and breathing difficulties exacerbated by mould or damp in poor quality housing have been blamed, although the charity also found that patients on lower incomes were less likely to be receiving adequate health checks.

The charity compared the incidence of life-threatening asthma attacks based on patients' deprivation status.

The analysis found that people living in the poorest fifth of postcodes made up almost 33% of asthma-related emergency hospital admissions over the past five years, compared to 11.6% of patients in the most affluent areas. The charity also found that only 25% of patients in Scotland are receiving basic asthma care, compared to 30% for the UK as a whole.

It is the first time since they began collecting this data in 2013 that the figure for Scotland has been worse than the UK average.

The charity is calling for urgent action to tackle health inequalities for asthma sufferers amid fears that the gulf will be made even worse as Scots begin to feel the squeeze of the cost of living crisis.

Joseph Carter, head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said: "[…] These statistics highlight the need to make lung health a priority in plans to tackle health inequalities, given its significant role in fuelling poor health outcomes in Scotland. In particular, we need a focus on prevention, including plans to driving down smoking rates and reducing air pollution and targeted awareness campaigns for the communities that need it most."

Source: The Herald, 17 May 2022
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** NHS prescription charge frozen to help ease cost-of-living crisis
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** The price of NHS prescriptions will be frozen for a year to help with the cost-of-living crisis, ministers have announced.

It means the cost for a single prescription in England will remain at £9.35, while a three-month prescription prepayment certificate will stay at £30.25.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the freeze means those in England who normally pay for their prescriptions would save £17 million overall. Twelve-month prescription prepayment certificates will remain at £108.10, and can be paid for in instalments.
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Source: The Telegraph, 15 May 2022
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** International
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** Goldman Sachs Eyes $50 Million Payday on European Tobacco Deal
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** Goldman Sachs Group is set to earn around $50 million in fees on the sale of tobacco company Swedish Match AB to Philip Morris International (PMI).

The pay-out is set to be one of the largest this year for mergers and acquisitions advisers working on a deal for a European target. Goldman Sachs was sole financial adviser to Swedish Match, which also makes smokeless nicotine pouches, on its $16 billion sale to PMI announced last week.

Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., which jointly advised PMI, also stand to make tens of millions of dollars in fees from the deal, according to insiders’ reports. In addition to advising PMI on the acquisition, the two banks are committing about $8 billion apiece for a bridge loan to finance the purchase.

Representatives for Swedish Match, PMI and the banks declined to comment.

Source: Bloomberg UK, 16 May 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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