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Public health cuts must be avoided, new PM told
Cuts to public health budgets will hit poorest communities the hardest, with a direct impact on the lives of the most vulnerable, the new government is being warned. Directors of public health say local authorities, which pay for initiatives such as smoking cessation services, are on a financial cliff edge.
In his first speech as prime minister, Rishi Sunak has warned of "difficult decisions" ahead as his government grapples with a "profound economic crisis". That will include how to fund the NHS and disease prevention strategies while plugging an estimated £40bn hole in public finances.
Alice Wiseman is the director of public health in Gateshead, parts of which see a 10-year difference in life expectancy due to the circumstances in which a child is born. Like other directors of public health across England, she has seen her budget cut by about a quarter since 2015/2016. She is worried that, despite the government's promise earlier in the year for a slight increase in the overall public health budget for England to £3.4bn, double-digit inflation will mean services will cost more, and that means cuts.
Wiseman said: "It's really hard to work in an environment where you're always thinking about what you potentially need to prioritise, what you potentially maybe need to look at reducing."
One area that Gateshead is committed to is the city's smoking cessation programmes, which not only give smokers the chance for healthier outcomes but also save the area more than £62m in lost earnings and health and social care costs. She warned: "If we keep cutting those preventative services... we end up picking up the bill at the other side when people are unwell."
Independent health charity The Health Foundation has been tracking reductions in public health spending for the past seven years and said initiatives around stopping smoking, adult drug and alcohol addiction and sexual health services have been the hardest hit. Smoking cessation programmes have seen budget reductions of 41% since 2015/2016.
David Finch, assistant director of healthy lives at The Health Foundation, urged: "Public health interventions have been shown to be really cost effective [...] Investing in these preventative measures that help to keep people in good health in the first place means you're protecting against future costs to the economy and society by keeping people healthy and reducing poor health in the future."
Source: BBC News, 26 October 2022
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Steve Barclay reappointed as health secretary
New prime minister Rishi Sunak has reappointed Steve Barclay as health secretary, with Thérèse Coffey moving to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Barclay was health secretary for a short while under Boris Johnson, after Sajid Javid resigned. He was succeeded by Coffey when Liz Truss took over as prime minister.
In 2018, Mr Barclay had served as health minister and became health secretary in July this year. He had been considered a Boris Johnson loyalist and was a supporter of the leave campaign.
Source: Pulse Today, 25 October 2022
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Michael Gove returns as levelling up secretary
Michael Gove has been appointed the new levelling up secretary as part of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle, replacing Simon Clarke. This comes following Rishi Sunak having reiterated the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to “levelling up” in his first speech as prime minister.
Gove held the role between September 2021 and July 2022 when he was sacked by former prime minister Boris Johnson, shortly before Mr Johnson himself resigned. During his previous time at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Gove was responsible for introducing the levelling up white paper and subsequent Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which has just completed the committee stage in parliament.
Speaking to LGC at the Local Government Association conference at the end of June, Gove warned councils not to have “false hope” over government support for inflationary pressures. He also said there would be “difficult decisions” looming for councils but said he was “particularly aware” of the pressures facing councils in the adult social care sector.
To see the full list of Sunak’s cabinet appointments, follow here.
Source: Local Government Chronicle, 26 October 2022
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Rishi Sunak reiterates commitment to levelling up
Rishi Sunak has reiterated the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to “levelling up” in his first speech as prime minister.
Sunak said: “I will deliver on its promises. A stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate and create jobs.” However he also warned that the country faces challenges ahead due to the ongoing economic situation with “difficult decisions to come [...] There are always limits, now more than ever.”
Sunak is familiar with challenges in local government, having served as a local government minister between January 2018 and July 2019 under Sajid Javid at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. This role included adult social care, finance and pensions.
Source: Local Government Chronicle, 25 October 2022
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Decision to name Bristol street after cigarette brand under review
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, is currently reviewing a controversial decision to name a street after a cigarette brand after an anti-smoking charity criticised the plan. The street, on a new housing development in south Bristol, is set to be called 'Navy Cut Road' in honour of a product made at the site's former Imperial Group tobacco factory.
Bristol City Council Conservative Cllr Richard Eddy called the name a celebration of the city’s “gritty” industrial history.
ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott however said: “Once the Mayor’s office has reviewed the decision to name a street after a cigarette brand I cannot believe that the decision will be allowed to stand [...] Smoking killed 100 million people worldwide in the twentieth century, and on current trends it could kill one billion people this century, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.”
Arnott also highlighted the close connection between tobacco and slavery, stating: “The tobacco that helped Bristol grow prosperous was produced by slave labour, and once slavery ended by share croppers whose working conditions were not much better. Bristol’s link with the tobacco industry should be a matter of shame, not pride, for the city.”
The Mayor’s Office said they had no further comment while the decision was being reviewed.
Source: Local Gov, 26 October 2022
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EU approves Philip Morris buyout of Swedish Match
The EU commission on Tuesday approved Philip Morris International’s (PMI) purchase of smokeless tobacco company Swedish Match, after the Marlboro cigarette maker agreed to sell off a tobacco distribution business in Sweden.
To secure the $16 billion (£14bn) deal, PMI offered to divest SMD Logistics, an arm of Swedish Match that gave it “a de facto monopoly on distribution of tobacco and nicotine products in Sweden,” the EU’s antitrust enforcer said in a statement. The transaction is not yet final, and Philip Morris increased its offer for Swedish Match on October 20 in order to win over investor holdouts.
Stockholm-based Swedish Match, known for Nordic “snus”, derives more than 65% of its revenue from products such as chewing tobacco and the Zyn brand of nicotine pouches.
The US company PMI sells cigarette brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield in 180 markets outside the United States. Last year it clinched a controversial takeover of British breathing inhaler manufacturer Vectura, despite fierce opposition from health campaigners and medical groups.
Source: Asian Trader, 26 October 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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