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Scotland: Ministers urged to back smokers’ switch to vaping
A survey commissioned by the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has, according to the SGF, found that 45% of Scots tended to agree or strongly agree that the government should encourage tobacco smokers to switch to e-cigarettes, whilst 23% disagreed, 23% had no opinion, and 9% did not know.
The poll was conducted by the Diffley Partnership and asked more than 2,000 people for their views. Just under half of respondents were current or ex-smokers, and about one in five current or ex-users of e-cigarettes.
The poll suggested that users chose e-cigarettes because they were cheaper and less harmful, with 41% of respondents saying it helped them move away from cigarettes.
A Scottish government consultation has proposed that in-store promotional displays of e-cigarettes should be banned and said that “vaping products should be positioned purely as a smoking cessation aid to help those currently smoking tobacco products switch to a less harmful alternative and gradually quit completely”.
However, the SGF poll suggested that only one in six people, including non-smokers and non-vapers, wanted accessing vapes to be harder. It also found that vapers were increasingly buying from local stores rather than purchasing on the internet.
A Scottish government spokesman said: “Vape products can be a useful tool for those trying to quit tobacco use. An independent report on our consultation on potentially introducing further restrictions on advertising and promoting vaping products will be published this summer. This will be used to inform future policy decisions.”
Source: The Times, 25 July 2022
Editorial note: According to the University of Bath’s Tobacco Tactics the Scottish Grocers’ Federation is funded by the tobacco industry and collaborated in 2018 with Philip Morris International (PMI) in trying (unsuccessfully) to set up a Scottish Parliamentary Cross-Party Group on Harm Reduction and/or e-cigarettes.
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Child vaping risks becoming “public health catastrophe” in UK, experts warn
The Observer discusses parents’ views on their child’s use of e-cigarettes, amidst an increase in use of e-cigarettes amongst teenagers in the UK:
The authors highlight one mother from Northumberland who discusses how her 12-year-old son gradually increased his use and strength of e-cigarettes through obtaining illegal vapes: “He started trying stronger and stronger stuff to get a bit of a buzz”, she says.
The Observer also cites recent research by ASH which found, despite it being illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under 18 year-olds, the proportion of 16-17 and 18 year-olds who say they currently use e-cigarettes has doubled in the past 12 months.
Another parent shares concerns over e-cigarette manufacturers targeting young people through their product packaging. She says: “It seems like the manufacturers are designing them with young people in mind”.
The Observer argues “there is growing alarm among teachers, medical experts and trading standards officials that vapes are too easily available to children”, who support e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation “quit tool” not a “cool tool”.
The authors of the article also highlight a statement by a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson which argued that whilst the UK has some of the strongest regulations on e-cigarettes in place, the department was considering further measures as, “vaping should only be used to help people quit smoking – vapes should not be used by children, young people or non-smokers.”
In contrast however, the Observer highlights alternative views held by parents who regard their child’s vaping as “the lesser of two evils”. These parents argue they would prefer their child to vape over smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs.
Editorial note: Whilst the ASH and YouGov research cited in this article did indeed find a significant increase in e-cigarette current use amongst 16-17 years-olds and 18-years olds, current users remain a minority of the total cohort, with 14.1% of 16-17 year-olds and 20.2% of 18 year-olds reporting current use. For full findings and key messages from ASH and YouGov’s research on e-cigarette use among young people, see the ASH factsheet on youth vaping.
Source: The Observer, 23 July 2022
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Elf Bars: The candy-coloured vapes getting teens hooked on nicotine
Reporter, Madeleine Spence, discusses the rising popularity of disposable e-cigarettes in the UK:
Spence highlights the presence of disposable e-cigarettes such as Elf Bars on social media, especially TikTok “where the Elf Bar hashtag has 842 million views” and cites data by e-cigarette retailer, IndeJuice, who claim they “sold more disposables in the first three months of [2022] than in the whole of 2021”.
Spence also highlights concerns by local councils and police officers over the increase in use of e-cigarettes in under 18s and cites research by ASH which reports that “vaping among those aged between 11 and 17 has risen from 4% to 7% in two years, with disposables being the most popular product.”
Spence concludes by arguing that whilst former health secretary, Sajid Javid, previously proposed the NHS should prescribe e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool, there are concerns this does not adequately address a rise in vaping amongst never smokers and young people.
Source: The Times, 24 July 2022
Editorial note: The ASH and YouGov report cited in this article found that whilst current use of e-cigarettes among 11-17 year olds has increased, use among have never smokers remains low and largely experimental; while 7.5% of never smokers had tried an e-cigarette in 2022 only 1.7% report at least monthly use. For full findings and key messages from ASH and YouGov’s research on e-cigarette use among young people, see the ASH factsheet on youth vaping.
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Low pay and damp housing driving UK lung disease deaths, study finds
A new study carried out by Asthma + Lung UK, reports that 55% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients suffering two or more acute attacks a year earn under £20,000. The survey of nearly 6,000 people living with COPD, one of Britain’s most common lung conditions, found that structural inequalities had a significant bearing on whether a patient would survive.
The research, published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, builds on previous findings that poorer people with COPD are five times more likely to die than the wealthiest people with the condition.
Prof Nick Hopkinson, medical director of Asthma + Lung UK, said: “One of the impacts of inequality is that it affects some of the most vulnerable people in society and it increases the risk of dying from lung disease. COPD is one of the biggest health problems in the UK and one of the biggest causes of hospital admissions so failure to deal with this is causing big problems for the health and social care system.”
Of the 5,997 patients surveyed, the research found that of those who experienced two or more COPD exacerbations a year, 62% were more likely to smoke and 53% were more likely to have experienced occupational exposure to dust, fumes and chemicals.
Asthma + Lung UK said just 25% of people with COPD receive proper care. It urged patients to get a self-management plan, access to pulmonary rehab, help to stop smoking, a flu and pneumonia jab and support managing other conditions.
Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2022
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Lancet correspondence: Tobacco control - the FCTC provides the route to the finish line
Deborah Arnott, ASH, Kylie Lindorff, Framework Convention Alliance and Andrew Goddard, Royal College of Physicians, discuss the continued relevance of the FCTC in response to a previous Lancet correspondence by Robert Beaglehole and Ruth Bonita:
Robert Beaglehole and Ruth Bonita describe the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) as “no longer fit for purpose, especially for low-income countries”. The evidence shows otherwise.
A detailed analysis in 126 countries of the effect of just the demand reduction measures of the FCTC concluded that “implementation of key WHO FCTC demand-reduction measures is significantly associated with lower smoking prevalence, with anticipated future reductions in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality”. Furthermore, the strong dose–response association between the number of key measures implemented in the first decade of the treaty (2005–15) and reductions in smoking prevalence did not differ across UN subregion or World Bank income category. Other evaluation studies have reached similar conclusions.
However, only one country (Türkiye) had implemented all five of these key measures, and the average number of full implementations across 126 countries was only 1.04 out of a possible 5.00. Implementation of the FCTC was particularly poor in low income and middle-income countries. In particular, progress has been slow in delivering increases in tobacco taxation even though reducing the affordability of tobacco is the fastest acting and most effective of all the key measures. Tobacco taxes also provide a revenue stream for financing development including health-care provision in many countries. What is needed is accelerated progress in implementing the FCTC to its full extent, rather than abandoning it.
The FCTC does not prohibit harm reduction approaches to treating tobacco dependence, including the use of novel nicotine products. The clear decision of the FCTC Conference of Parties is that these parties are encouraged to regulate these products as appropriate to their national laws and public health objectives.
The FCTC remains fit for purpose, providing a flexible framework and example of best practice for global tobacco control. It is not the inadequacy of the FCTC, but rather the failure of parties to implement in full its evidence-based measures that has led to insufficient progress in delivering the targets of a 30% reduction in smoking prevalence by 2030, which is a crucial component of the WHO Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Failure to implement is due to multiple challenges in moving tobacco control forward, the greatest of which is the tobacco industry, which works relentlessly to delay and weaken tobacco control policies, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Countries need help and support to implement the FCTC, not to have the treaty undermined.
Source: The Lancet, 22 July 2022
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Ireland “on the way” to stubbing out tobacco use
Ireland has the highest rate of people who have never smoked in the EU, according to a new analysis carried out at Imperial College London and published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases. The prevalence of ever smoking across the EU was 46.5% , ranging from 37.5 in Ireland to 57.4 in France. The analysis of Eurobarometer survey data of smoking across the EU also showed that Ireland had the fourth lowest rate of current smokers. Greece had the highest smoking rate out of 28 countries, followed by Bulgaria and France. Sweden had the lowest current smoking rate at just over 7% while Ireland was fourth lowest at just over 19%. While smoking rates have dropped across Europe due to tobacco-control measures over the past two decades, the researchers say it remains the region with the biggest smoking habit on the planet, with 29% of the population current smokers.
The researchers concluded that measuring “smoking burden” by current smoking prevalence alone may be inadequate, and lead to a wrong estimate of the health risks. Using multiple indicators, which take into account past length and intensity of smoking, as well as time since cessation, could lead to a more accurate forecast of the future health burden.
Dr Anthony Laverty, a lecturer in public health at Imperial College London and one of the study authors, said Ireland does consistently well across all the different indicators of harm in relation to tobacco. He said: “Really, that is a testament to strong tobacco control actions over a long period of time. […]We know, for example, from the latest WHO data that Ireland has some of the highest prices for tobacco in the world and has been a leader in terms of banning smoking in public places and pubs. Ireland is in the situation of being able to think about what a tobacco-free Ireland, with prevalence under 5%, might look like and how to get there.”
Source: The Times, 24 July 2022
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Parliamentary Questions
PQ1, 2 & 3: Electronic Cigarettes
Asked by Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat, St Albans
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation to review the (a) way flavours are described and (b) flavours themselves.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation to prohibit vaping companies from giving away vapes for free.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published on 9 June 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation to ban (a) cartoon characters and (b) images appealing to young people from vaping products.
Answered by Maggie Throup, Minister for Public Health
The Government is considering the recommendations from the Khan Review, including measures to protect children and young people from starting vaping. We are assessing options such as potential benefits of banning cartoon characters and images which are appealing to children and the merits of prohibiting free samples. We are also looking at flavours and the appeal for young people. In response to the Review, we will publish a new Tobacco Control Plan in due course.
Source: Hansard, 22 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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