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Pregnant mums to be given free vapes by Lambeth council
Smokers who are pregnant or care for young kids will be handed electronic cigarette products, as part of Lambeth Council’s stop smoking service. It is estimated the scheme will save parents £2,000 a year that would otherwise go on tobacco.
Officials at the Labour-run council hope the plan will improve people’s health and help them with the rocketing cost of living. More than 3,000 Lambeth families, many with kids, fall into poverty each year due to their smoking addiction, according to the council.
Cllr Ben Kind revealed details of the scheme in a written response to a question from Cllr Issa Issa about what the council was doing to tackle child and family poverty in the borough.
A King’s College study published in September found that “vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking.”
According to the NHS website: “A 2021 review found people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking, as well as having expert face-to-face support, can be up to twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum.”
Source: London News Online, 20 October 2022
See also:
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Jeremy Hunt presses ahead with finalising UK fiscal plan
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Thursday pressed on with preparations to unveil a crucial fiscal statement, which aims to fill a £40bn hole in the UK public finances, on October 31, in spite of Liz Truss’s resignation.
Given that a new prime minister is expected to be in place by October 28, and may decide to appoint a new chancellor, Hunt is operating under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Though reportedly many Tory MPs, including those who do not count themselves as fans of Hunt, believe he will remain as chancellor under any new prime minister and deliver a package of fiscal measures that can reassure the markets and that they can unite behind.
In the event Conservative MPs decided to vote against tax rises contained in the fiscal statement, to be implemented via a finance bill next spring, it could trigger an election.
Hunt’s plan is expected to try to limit the risk of a rebellion by Tory MPs by backloading the effects of difficult decisions beyond the next election. That includes a tough squeeze on “assumed spending” by government departments beyond the current budget period, which runs until 2025. A 1 percentage point cut would mean spending rising in real terms but would save £13bn a year by 2027-28.
Hunt on Thursday told colleagues he will not take part in the Conservative leadership contest. His position as chancellor could be secure if Rishi Sunak, one of his predecessors at the Treasury, becomes prime minister though this would become less clear if another Conservative leadership candidate, for example Penny Mordaunt, succeeded Truss.
Hunt, if he survives as chancellor to deliver his fiscal plan, will tell MPs this is “make or break” for the party, said one briefed official.
Source: Financial Times, 20 October 2022
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BMJ opinion: A return to austerity will further damage the public’s health
Writing in the BMJ, Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, UCL Institute of Health Equity Director and author of the seminal 2010 Fair Society, Healthy Lives “Marmot” review, warns that proposed public spending cuts will lead to an exacerbation of health inequalities.
Speaking on Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal budget announcement as new Chancellor, Marmot states we received “not a new recognition of equity of health and wellbeing, but a return to austerity [with] further damage to the public’s health, increases in health inequalities, and an NHS left in an even more parlous state.”
Amid reports the delayed health disparities white paper will not be published, Marmot argues that a “reduction of health inequalities [...] needs a commitment by the whole of government to address social conditions that lead to the unfair distribution of health” to which he states has been “sorely lacking”. Marmot cites the scrapping of the sugar tax to combat obesity, or other interventions to encourage health behaviours.
Marmot calls for a refocus on health inequities, with the guiding principles of what works and for the common good fully integrated into future policy planning.
Source: BMJ, 18 October 2022
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Republic of Ireland: Public consultation to be held on banning ‘wasteful’ disposable vapes
The Irish government is to carry out a public consultation over a number of months looking to ban “wasteful” disposable vape products, a junior minister has said.
Minister of State Ossian Smyth, who has responsibility for public procurement, eGovernment and the circular economy, said that research shows around half of young people who vape use disposable vapes. He said: “My concern as someone responsible for the circular economy, is that this product, which contains lithium iron batteries, electronics and so on, is used for a very short period of time and then thrown away” referencing the Circular Economy Act that allows a ban on single-use products and the EU’s single use plastic directive as a possible mechanism for their banning.
The Government is currently advancing its tobacco and nicotine inhaling products bill through the Irish parliament, which aims to regulate the strength of the products and the age group they can be sold to. Smyth said that this is priority legislation for the current Dail term and that he expects it to be implemented within the coalition government’s term in office.
Source: Belfast Telegraph, 17 October 2022
See also: Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment - Disposable vapes: a challenge to the recycling sector
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Sweden study: Sex differences in nicotine metabolism may explain women’s lower success with NRT
Researchers from Uppsala University have recently published findings suggesting why women may find a smoking quit attempt more difficult than their male counterparts. Lead researcher Professor Erika Comasco explains that nicotine works to shut down the oestrogen production mechanism in the brain of women, adding that this was observed even with a single dose of nicotine, equivalent to just one cigarette.
Under MRI and PET brain scans, female participants were injected with a radioactive tracer to identify the location of aromatase, the enzyme that produces oestrogen. Findings showed that the single nicotine dose moderately reduced the amount of aromatase in the brain, meaning there was less oestrogen.
The researchers state the work is still preliminary, and that further research will be needed on the newly-discovered effect to understand its impact on the hormonal system as well as its behavioural or cognitive outcomes. They also hope to replicate the study with male participants.
This work is due to be presented at the 35th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual conference, which takes place in Vienna from 15-18 October.
Source: The Sun, 17 October 2022
See also: Medical Xpress - Nicotine dose in a single cigarette blocks estrogen production in women's brains
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Prime minister questions
Asked by Nick Smith, Blaenau Gwent, Labour
The Prime Minister’s chief of staff is in hot water after lobbying on behalf of a Libyan warlord and big tobacco. It turns out that he has also lobbied for personal protective equipment giants Sante Global. Is it wise to have a lobbyist at the centre of Government?
Answered by Liz Truss, (former) Prime Minister
All appointments in Downing Street are properly checked through the propriety and ethics process. That is the way that we do it in a completely impartial way.
Source: Hansard, 19 October 2022
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Register for early bird tickets: E-Cigarette Summit UK
The 10th anniversary edition of the E-Cigarette Summit UK, held at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) will be taking place on the 9th December 2022.
With just over 7 weeks to go, this is the final week for you to register at the early bird discounted rate, which expires at 5pm today (October 21). Both in-person and online tickets are now available.
The special anniversary edition of the E-Cigarette Summit provides an evidence-based environment to explore current and pressing divisions within both the scientific and policy communities. Prof Sanjay Agrawal, Chair of the Tobacco Special Advisory Group at the RCP, will deliver the opening keynote reflecting on why 60 years after the publication of the ground-breaking RCP report “Smoking and Health”, tobacco remains a public health emergency.
To view the full agenda and speakers please go to www.e-cigarette-summit.co.uk
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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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