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Raft of legislation for the chop amid focus on growth over regulation
The Guardian’s chief political correspondent, Jessica Elgot, outlines the forthcoming legislation which is expected to be dropped by the Government. This includes including the “bill of rights, energy reforms, obesity strategy and cap on bankers bonuses”. Elgot reports there are also “rumours about the demise of gambling reform, the animal welfare bill and the online harms bill”.
The article reports that Jacob Rees-Mogg has told officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) “to halt any work [relating to the energy bill] while the government revisited its priorities”.
Elgot also states the obesity strategy is “next on the chopping block…which could mean lifting the ban on sugary products being displayed at checkouts and on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm watershed.”
Elgot states that Truss has “long been a deep sceptic of public health interventions” and has previously accused “macho” male colleagues of interfering too much in people’s lives. “Government’s role should not be to tell us what our tastes should be,” she said. “Too often we’re hearing about not drinking too much, eating too many doughnuts.”
Elgot also suggests the delayed gambling reform white paper may be at risk as it “fit[s] the mould of the kind of regulatory reform that Truss is keen to avoid burdening businesses with”.
The article concludes by quoting one Cabinet minister who said: “Anything that puts additional burdens on business or seems like unnecessary interference in people’s lives during a time of crisis is in our sights.”
Source: The Guardian, 15 September 2022
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Kwasi Kwarteng to deliver emergency mini-budget on 23 September
Kwasi Kwarteng will deliver his emergency mini-budget to bring in winter tax cuts for millions of people and set out more detail on energy support next Friday, 23rd September, according to sources. Although normal politics has been paralysed by the death of the Queen, the chancellor and his team have been putting the final touches to the budget with the aim of announcing it once the country emerges from national mourning.
In the mini-budget, the government is expected to confirm plans to reverse the recent rise in national insurance, even though it benefits higher earners the most, handing back about £1,800 a year to top earners while the lowest earners get about £7 a year.
Truss has already said she would ditch a planned rise in corporation tax. Her team has also spoken to business groups about changes to business rates and cuts to VAT to help with the energy crisis, as well as a longer-term review of these taxes. Senior MPs believe Kwarteng could make a “rabbit out of the hat” announcement on the cost of living crisis, with speculation this could include bringing forward by a year the pledge, made by Rishi Sunak as chancellor, to cut income tax by 1% from 2024. The government is expected to outline further details of Truss’s £100bn-plus emergency bailout to help households with energy bills, following criticism that she hadn’t said how the package would be funded.
Truss had been under pressure from Tory MPs to set out her plans before the Commons broke up for party conferences. It means parliament will sit for an extra day before the Labour conference begins on Saturday in Liverpool, with the recess expected to be cut by one week so that MPs return before the middle of October.
Source: The Guardian, 15 September 2022
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Study: Swapping 30 minutes of social media per day with exercise benefits mental health and reduces tobacco consumption
Researchers at the Ruhr-Universitätt in Bochum, Germany have recently investigated the effects of reducing social media use (SMU) and increasing physical activity, or both, on emotional well-being and tobacco consumption.
Julia Brailosvskaia, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the university’s Mental Health Research and Treatment Centre, led the two-week experiment.
Brailosvskaia and her team observed that the interventions they suggested may have helped enhance participants’ satisfaction with life. At a 6-month follow-up, the subjects continued to report spending less time on social media, maintaining physical activity, feeling happier, and smoking fewer cigarettes.
Source: Medical News Today, 15 September 2022
See also – Journal of Public Health - Experimental longitudinal evidence for causal role of social media use and physical activity in COVID-19 burden and mental health
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Ireland: Revenue seize drugs, booze and cigarettes at Irish ports after dog noticed “toys” parcel
Revenue officers, with the assistance of detector dog, Sam, seized drugs, alcohol and cigarettes at various Irish ports over the last two days.
Over the course of last weekend (Friday, 9th September and Saturday 10th September), as a result of an intelligence led operation, Revenue officers at Dublin Airport seized 69,000 cigarettes with a retail value of approximately €44,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of €35,000.
The illegal cigarettes, of various brands, were discovered when Revenue officers stopped and searched the checked baggage of three Romanian nationals who had disembarked a flight from Izmir, Turkey. Investigations into these seizures are ongoing.
Source: Irish Mirror, 15 September 2022
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Stoptober resources
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has published a selection of Stoptober 2022 media and communications resources, including leaflets, posters, guides and resource packs. You can browse the resources online via the link below.
Note: The resources can be downloaded/ordered but should not be used until Tuesday 20 September
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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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