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Wales: E-cigarettes: Young addict fear as 17-year-old can't stop vaping
An anonymous 17-year-old girl has reported she is addicted to vaping and "can't stop buying them".
Selling e-cigarettes to under-18s is illegal in Wales, however, the girl has said, "most shops don't ask me for ID".
The way disposable vapes are marketed towards young people is a problem, according to Suzanne Cass, chief executive of tobacco control action group ASH Cymru. Cass said:
"This comes down to the marketing of the product and it comes down to enforcement."
"So we need more support around enforcement activity around underage sales and we need to take a tighter grip on the marketing of these products to young people."
Cass said vapes were supposed to be "a smoking cessation tool", so "to see them marketed towards young people is a disappointment to us."
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "The sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s has been banned in Wales since 2015 and it is also an offence for anyone to buy e-cigarettes on behalf of a person under 18. We continue to monitor trends on the use of e-cigarettes in Wales as well as what more can be done to prevent their use by young people and non-smokers," they added.
Source: BBC Wales, 2 July 2022
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New smoking cessation service launches at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
Today, 4th July, is American Independence Day and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust are declaring it “independence from smoking day” as its new tobacco dependency service is rolled-out across wards.
All patients admitted to the emergency assessment unit who smoke will be offered bespoke support to manage nicotine cravings while under the Trust’s care.
In conjunction with the ward’s medical staff, trained tobacco dependency team members will prescribe nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and provide support.
On discharge, the patient will be provided with two-weeks’ worth of NRT and a referral to a local community organisation who can provide ongoing support.
Julie Bardsley, tobacco dependency specialist lead, said: “Smoking is a disease, not a lifestyle choice. There are too many smokers in Stockton and Hartlepool and we want to help them. Smoking does not contribute anything positive towards anyone’s health. Its impact is entirely negative. We will be offering helpful, non-judgmental support to smokers who are admitted to our hospitals. All the research shows that smokers who are supported in their attempt to quit are much more successful. We are ready to get onto the ward and help our patients in every way possible.”
Source: News Anyway, 3 July 2022
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Council endorses a “smoke free” North Tyneside in less than 10 years
Council leaders have endorsed measures to make North Tyneside “smoke free” in less than 10 years. North Tyneside council’s health and wellbeing board was recommended to endorse proposals made in, “The Khan Review - Making Smoking Obsolete”, to make the whole of the UK smoke free by 2030.
Senior public health manager, Chris Woodcock, said in committee: “Still, six million people in this country smoke. 200 people die a day as a result of smoking related illness. To use someone else's catchphrase ‘smoking is the new smoking.’”
Woodcock added that “If you are in routine and manual occupations you are two and half times more likely to smoke. If you are a social housing tenant you are three times more likely to smoke than someone who has a mortgage. This is not equal harm in our communities.”
The North Tyneside Smokefree Alliance will also consider the Khan review and develop a set of local actions to reduce smoking. Following the meeting, a letter will be sent to the Government on behalf of the health and wellbeing board urging the Government to implement the Khan review’s recommendations.
Source: Chronical Live, 2 July 2022
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Government policy still lags behind public opinion, 15 years after smoking ban in Britain
New data released by ASH on Friday, 1st July, shows how public support has continued to grow despite a lack of progress on the policy front, 15 years since a smokefree legislation in Britain prohibited smoking inside public spaces such as offices, shops and pubs.
The data was published in a new report “Fifteen Smokefree Years”, which summarises results from an annual survey carried out since 2007 by YouGov.
According to the report, around three quarters (74%) of those who participated in the survey supported the government’s Smokefree 2030 ambition.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “Three years since the Government announced its ambition and over a year since a new Tobacco Control Plan was promised, there’s no time to lose. Hundreds of children still start smoking every day and we’re nowhere near achieving the Government’s Smokefree 2030 ambition. Javed Khan’s independent review sets out a clear programme for action, supported by the public, now it’s time for Government to deliver.”
Bob Blackman MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health, said: “YouGov’s fifteen years surveying public opinion show clearly that people want government to do more, not less to end smoking, and levels of support have grown over time.”
Blackman added that “A large majority of voters for all the political parties, including my own, support the Government’s Smokefree 2030 ambition. They also support interventions recommended by Javed Khan’s independent review for the Secretary of State for Health, without which the Government won’t achieve its ambition. The Government needs to listen to the public and implement ambitious plans to end smoking without further delay.”
Source: Pharmacy Business, 1 July 2022
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How Ukraine is using e-cigarettes to fight a drone war against Russia
A new and unusual initiative has just been launched by engineer and PhD student Maksym Sheremet and his organisation “Drone Lab”. His team of volunteers have set up drop-off bins outside the campuses and dorm rooms of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where Sheremet studies and teaches, to collect disposable e-cigarettes and retrieve a valuable commodity inside them: lithium polymer batteries.
The batteries are being used to power release systems attached to drones so that they can carry and drop anything from medical supplies to grenades to support the Ukrainian army. The release systems are built using 3D printers.
The 26-year-old told The Independent: “We started collecting e-cigarettes after the price of lithium batteries really rose a month ago. Lithium batteries used to cost $1 each but went up five times in price adding significantly to our costs. So we started powering dropping systems from the batteries in disposable e-cigarettes. It’s free, easy to repurpose and environmentally friendly because we are recycling.”
Sheremet said that “In the last 20 days, we’ve made 100 drone dropping systems using e-cigarette batteries and have another 100 in progress.[…] We have 2,000 orders in the pipeline.” He says it was his way to contribute to the war effort against Russia.
Source: The Independent, 3 July 2022
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Portugal: New national cancer strategy proposes new tobacco control measures
A new national strategy in Portugal presented by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), calls for an increase in tobacco prices and more regulations on tobacco products.
The strategy’s main objective is to reduce the incidence of preventable cancers, while also increasing the survival and quality of life of patients and survivors of the disease.
The National Strategy for the Fight against Cancer aims to "limit" access to tobacco through various new measures, particularly by increasing prices and reducing the affordability of tobacco. Other proposals include better regulating tobacco products, including flavourings, and raising the minimum legal age for those who are authorised to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 years old.
Source: The Portugal News, 3 July 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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