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Almost 5,000 cancer cases a year in Scotland are directly linked to poverty, report finds
Nearly 5,000 cases of cancer in Scotland every year can be linked directly to poverty, according to a landmark report published by Cancer Research UK today.
The research into the inequalities facing cancer patients also showed that death rates from the disease are 74% higher in the most deprived communities than in the richest. The report also shows that people from poorer areas are not only more at risk of developing the disease, but are also more likely to be diagnosed late. The charity found that around 4,900 extra cancer cases a year in Scotland are linked to deprivation, the equivalent of around 13 avoidable cancer cases every day. It said the research provided the first “comprehensive picture of deprivation and cancer” in Scotland, describing the inequalities uncovered as “unacceptable”.
Smoking remains the biggest cause of cancer in Scotland, accounting for almost one in five cases. The research found that people in deprived areas are more likely to smoke and also be overweight or obese, the second-biggest risk factor. Cancer Research said in order to reduce these inequalities, extra support on tackling smoking and obesity should be targeted at those in deprived areas, among other actions.
Source: i News, 28 November 2022
See also: Cancer Research UK - Cancer in the UK: Deprivation and cancer inequalities in Scotland
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Sunak wants vaccine taskforce-style strategy to tackle NHS missions
Rishi Sunak hopes a “blueprint” inspired by the coronavirus vaccine rollout will help tackle the NHS’s four “healthcare missions” of cancer, obesity, mental health and addiction.
The Prime Minister has announced more than £113 million in funding for research into cutting-edge treatments and technologies with the aim of encouraging breakthroughs. Each mission will be led by an independent expert, with each one being chosen by an expert panel including Dame Kate Bingham, who headed the vaccine taskforce. Ministers believe tackling the key challenges could save the NHS and the economy billions, with obesity alone estimated to cost the health service £6.1 billion per year.
The British Medical Association welcomed the “injection of funding” for research but warned it must be coupled with further investment in the NHS and in the welfare system. Medical academic staff committee chairman Professor David Strain said: “Doctors are already struggling to pick up the pieces of a broken social safety net. A stronger social safety net, backed by well-funded public services, would save thousands from needing the NHS’s services at all […]”.
Source: Independent, 28 November 2022
See also: British Medical Association - BMA responds to Government’s vaccines taskforce approach to tackling the UK’s biggest public health challenges
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Brussels to propose rise in cigarette taxes and first EU-wide vaping levy
The EU is to propose a bloc-wide vaping levy as part of a shake-up of taxation on the tobacco industry that would also double excise duties in member states with low cigarette taxes, according to a draft European Commission document.
The changes to legislation, part of a push by Brussels to cut smoking rates, will increase the EU’s minimum excise duty on cigarettes from €1.80 to €3.60 per pack of 20, which would raise prices in eastern European nations where packs can sell for under €3. The update to the 2011 EU tobacco taxation directive will also bring the taxation of other smoking products, such as vapes and heated tobacco, into line with cigarettes; stronger vaping products would have an excise duty of at least 40% applied to them, while lower-strength vapes will face a 20% duty. Heated tobacco products will also be hit by 55% duty, or a tax rate of €91 per 1,000 items sold.
The changes aim to speed up the EU’s push for a “tobacco-free generation” by 2040. As part of the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan, health officials want to drive tobacco use among EU citizens from the current level of about 25% down to 20% in 2025, and below 5% by 2040.
Rob Branston, senior lecturer in business economics and a member of the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group, said the tax regime update was “long overdue” to increase prices in countries where cigarettes were “too cheap” and to catch up with inflation. “This will save lives,” he said. “Tax-induced price increases are [...] one of the most effective tools for reducing tobacco use, so significant increases in minimum tax rates [...] are crucial to attaining the desired reductions in cancer and other illnesses.”
Source: Financial Times, 27 November 2022
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