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** 7 March 2023
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** UK
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** Ending smoking 'could free 75,000 GP appointments every month' (#1)
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** Smokers generally unaware that quitting smoking will reduce risk of dementia (#2)
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** Budget 2023: No vaping crackdown in spring statement as Jeremy Hunt rules out disposable e-cigarettes levy (#3)
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** The environmental cost of single-use vapes (#4)
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** On this day 1962: Royal College of Physicians links smoking to serious health problems (#5)
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** UK
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** Ending smoking 'could free 75,000 GP appointments every month'

Ending smoking in England would free up some 75,000 GP appointments every single month, a charity has estimated.

Cancer Research UK said that the Government must do more to prevent young people start smoking and to help current smokers kick the habit.

It said that smoking remains the biggest cause of cancer death and takes up a “considerable” amount of NHS resources – and it has calculated that one person is admitted to hospital every minute in England due to smoking. The charity has called on the Government to launch a consultation on raising the age of sale of tobacco and commit to providing more funding to help people quit.

If the Government does not have the cash, then it should be funded by the tobacco industry, the charity said. Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “In his forthcoming budget, the Chancellor has the chance to reduce the number of people suffering with and dying from smoking-related cancers, grow the economy and best use NHS resources.

“Jeremy Hunt must grasp this opportunity to be bold with tobacco control and establish a Smokefree Fund to pay for these measures – and if required, make the tobacco industry, not the taxpayer, pay for the harm it causes to our nation’s health, and our health service.”

Source: Hull daily mail, 7 March 2023

See also: Cancer Research UK – Ending smoking could free up 75,000 GP appointments each month ([link removed])
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** Smokers generally unaware that quitting smoking will reduce risk of dementia

Smokers are being urged to give quitting a go ahead of No Smoking Day (8th March), as research shows those who smoke are more likely to develop dementia.

The annual awareness day encourages smokers to make a quit attempt and this year's theme is "stopping smoking protects your brain health."

According to Alzheimer's Research UK, dementia is the most feared health condition for people over the age of 55—more than any other life-threatening disease including cancer and diabetes.

Yet YouGov data commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) revealed just 18% of people who smoke know that smoking increases the risk of dementia, compared to more than 70% who know that smoking causes lung diseases or cancers.

Smoking raises the risk of developing dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, as it harms the vascular system (heart and blood vessels) and the brain.

Studies also suggest that quitting smoking reduces this risk substantially, and smoking has been identified as one of twelve risk factors that if eliminated entirely, could collectively prevent or delay up to 40% of dementia cases.

Dr. Chi Udeh-Momoh, a neuroscientist and dementia prevention expert based at Imperial College London, said, "If you smoke, quitting is perhaps the most important step you can take to protect both your heart and your brain. It really can be life-changing."

"It's fantastic that brain health is the theme of No Smoking Day 2023. Initiatives like this are so important in raising awareness of the steps we can take to help keep the brain healthy."

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, who is helping to co-ordinate this year's No Smoking Day, said, "Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to improve your health. It has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia, heart disease, cancer and stroke. You experience health benefits within weeks of stopping, breathing easier and feeling fitter.

"No Smoking Day is the perfect time to quit smoking when thousands of other people are stopping too. There are many ways to stop from nicotine replacement therapy to vaping and free local support to stop smoking. Smokers are three times more likely to succeed in quitting with help from a trained professional than with willpower alone."

Source: The Medical Xpress, 6 March 2023
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** Budget 2023: No vaping crackdown in spring statement as Jeremy Hunt rules out disposable e-cigarettes levy

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has rejected calls from health officials to introduce a new levy on single use vapes in next week’s Budget, the i can reveal.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been pushing for the new tax to be introduced to disposable vapes such as the extremely popular Elf Bar brand as part of the Government’s plans to crack down on their use among children.

The proposals are expected to be included in the Government’s response to the Khan Review on smoking, which will also seek to clampdown on the worrying rise in vaping among under-18s.

However, Treasury sources have told the i that despite calls from officials in the health department, a new levy will not be included in what is expected to be a slimmed down Budget on 15 March.

“Department of Health officials are keen, but it’s not going to happen,” a source said.

The news will be greeted with disappointment by campaign groups, however, who have long been warning about the rapid increase in young people taking up vaping.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity ASH, told the i recently that “increasing the tax on single use disposable vapes in the March Budget would be easy to do and by making them less affordable could reduce both child vaping and the vast quantities of single use vapes being thrown into landfill”.

“Adult smokers find vaping useful in helping them quit, and that’s something we support. However, in the light of the recent increase in child vaping, Government action is urgently needed to tighten regulation and increase enforcement,” Ms Arnott added.

It is illegal to sell vapes to anyone below the age of 18, but national surveys have shown an increasing trend of 11–17-year-olds using the devices, with health leaders blaming the rise on the marketing and flavours associated with them.

Source: The i, 6 March 2023

See also: ASH – Youth resources on vaping ([link removed])
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** The environmental cost of single-use vapes

Writing in the Financial Times, Oliver Barnes and Alexandra Heal, both reporters for the FT, discuss how the increased popularity of disposable vapes among young people has negative environmental implications.

They write that the devices contain lithium, a precious metal, which could have a second life if properly recycled. According to estimates by the FT, 90 tonnes of lithium and 1160 tonnes of copper were used for the production of disposable vapes last year, enough lithium to make 11,000 electric vehicles and copper to make 1.6 million home electric vehicle chargers. Despite the precious metals found in discarded e-cigarettes, manufacturers have made very little effort to facilitate the recycling of these products meaning they often end up in landfill.

The authors state that in some countries, including the UK, the government have been hesitant to regulate vapes as they play an important role in reducing tobacco use. But they now question whether disposable vapes create more problems than they solve.

The authors note that Scotland and Ireland are considering an outright ban on these products, whilst in the EU legislation that makes replaceable or rechargeable batteries in all consumer products mandatory by 2027, will effectively prohibit the sale of these products. No such action has been taken in the UK, where a review of similar legislation has been delayed twice.

The authors note that the department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says it strongly encourages consumers to dispose of electrical waste at local recycling centres or return them to retailers. Despite legislation that obliges retailers selling more than £100,000 worth of vapes to offer take-back services, the FT found that no staff from several different large retailers were aware of any schemes. The authors add that recycling small electricals is a challenge anyway, being fiddly and expensive to dismantle.

Barnes and Heal write that the UK is an outlier when looking at the global response to vapes with some outright banning them and many more imposing restrictions. But Javed Khan, who led the review ‘making smoking obsolete’, warns against a “knee-jerk” ban on flavoured vapes which would likely result in some going back to smoking. The authors add that the evidence seems to support his argument, with rates of smoking among 18-year olds continuing to fall despite an increase in the number of 18-year olds vaping.

Source: The Financial Times, 7 March 2023

See also: ASH – Resources on youth vaping ([link removed]) | ASH – Electronic cigarettes ([link removed]) | The Khan Review – Making smoking obsolete ([link removed])
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** On this day 1962: Royal College of Physicians links smoking to serious health problems

In this video from the BBC archives, BBC reporters hit the streets to see what the general public made of the 1962 RCP report which linked smoking to lung cancer, bronchitis and coronary heart disease. Several smokers seemed somewhat unfazed.

Source: BBC Archive Twitter, 7 March 2023
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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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