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Christmas Break
This will be our final daily news of 2022, we will return on the 3rd January 2023. On behalf of ASH, we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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Illegal cigarettes and vapes seized after Darlington shops raided
Thousands of illegal cigarettes, oversized vapes and tobacco have been seized after police raided several shops throughout Darlington.
The council’s trading standards team and police visited seven shops across the town, accompanied by detection dogs to sniff out hidden cash, tobacco, and cigarettes in six of the premises.
The visits, which took place between November 30 and December 5, were part of Operation Cece, a National Trading Standards initiative.
Councillor Mike Renton, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for stronger communities, said: “Darlington trading standards team will continue to work closely with other agencies to tackle the sale and supply of illegal vapes and tobacco products in the town particularly to children.
“Those that engage in illegal sales hurt other businesses in the town that do follow the rules and we are working hard to ensure this does not happen.”
Source: The Northern Echo, 20 December 2022
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Smoking linked to increased chances of mid-life memory loss, confusion, study finds
Middle-aged smokers have higher chances of developing signs of memory loss and confusion than nonsmokers, according to a new study which suggests the likelihood of cognitive decline is lower among those who have quit.
The research, published recently in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, builds on the relationships between smoking and Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia, uncovered in previous studies.
In the latest study, researchers from the Ohio State University examined the relationship between smoking and cognitive decline using a one-question self-assessment which asked people if they’ve experienced worsening or more frequent memory loss and/or confusion.
The study data came from the national 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Based on the findings, scientists pointed out that quitting smoking is not just good for respiratory and cardiovascular reasons, but also to preserve neurological health.
“The association we saw was most significant in the 45-59 age group, suggesting that quitting at that stage of life may have a benefit for cognitive health,” study senior author Jeffrey Wing said.
But a similar difference wasn’t found in the oldest group in the study, researchers say, suggesting that quitting earlier may afford people greater benefits.
Source: The Independent, 22 December 2022
See also: Rajczyk JI, Ferketich A, Wing JJ. Relation Between Smoking Status and Subjective Cognitive Decline in Middle Age and Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 2022 Nov 9(Preprint):1-9.
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Editorial: Lower risk in elite footballers but questions persist over alcohol marketing to football fans
Writing in the BMJ, Robin Ireland, honorary director of research at Healthy Stadia, highlights that football fans around the world are still exposed to high levels of promotion of unhealthy commodities. Businesses ranging from the tobacco, alcohol, foods high in fat and sugar and more recently gambling industry have been attempting to obscure the health hazards present in their products by seeking a “health-halo” by associating themselves with sports.
Ireland cites a long-running cohort study from Sweden showing that alcohol disorders among men in the general population are significantly higher than among elite male football players.
He highlights the prevalence of advertising of unhealthy commodities in football, arguing that this kind of sport sponsorship was “developed by the tobacco and alcohol industries.” He states that unhealthy commodities industries have successfully used association with sports to “obscure the health hazards associated with consumption of their products.”
Ireland attributes the higher rates of alcohol disorders among football fans, compared to football players, to increased exposure to alcohol marketing. He adds that evidence suggests alcohol marketing is associated with higher alcohol consumption, especially in young people.
Concluding, Ireland writes that whilst there are lower rates of alcohol related health disorders amongst current day footballers, the continued promotion of unhealthy commodities during football matches makes watching football less healthy than playing it.
Source: The BMJ, 21 December 2022
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120 years of Cancer Research UK: how science transformed survival rates
Journalist David Cox discusses the history of Cancer Research UK and highlights the impact that scientific research has had on improving cancer survival rates. The article also discusses the organisation's role in funding long-term population research demonstrating the link between tobacco and cancer and campaigning for the smoking ban.
Source: Cancer Research UK, 19 December 2022
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New ASH/Bluegrass report: Qualitative insights
ASH has now published its full report with Bluegrass that explored the experiences, attitudes and perceptions of smoking and stop smoking support from smokers, quitters and healthcare professionals across England, with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
This research was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to inform Javed Khan's independent review on the Government's Smokefree 2030 ambition.
Catch up on our webinar series in October presenting some of the insights.
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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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