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Lung disease hotspots in the UK revealed
The number of people needing emergency hospital treatment for asthma, emphysema and other lung conditions is three times higher in some parts of the UK than in the richest areas of the country, new research has shown.
A detailed picture of lung health found much higher illness and death rates in the north-west of England, the central belt of Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, according to a lung disease charity.
Lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a category which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, affect one in five people in their lifetime.
Lung disease is the third biggest killer in the UK after cancer and heart disease over the last decade.
The evidence shows there is a strong link to deprivation, according to ALUK's chief executive Sarah Woolnough.
"There will often be higher exposure to air pollution, poor quality housing with mould and damp that can lead to flare-ups, and historically higher smoking rates," she said.
"We also know that people have different access to GPs and primary care. And for lung health, getting a quick diagnosis and then access to care to manage your condition is so important."
The government angered some doctors in January when it said it would shelve a long-awaited white paper which was meant to spell out how it would tackle these kinds of health inequalities in England.
In its place, a new "major conditions" strategy is due to be published this summer, looking at improving treatment for those people already experiencing ill health, and taking into account regional differences.
Ministers say they have already set "ambitious" targets to reduce air pollution and smoking, while the NHS is also expanding its programme of free lung health checks in England.
Across the whole UK, the cost to the health service of lung disease is put at £11bn a year, with COPD alone now the second most common reason for an emergency hospital admission.
If just a fraction of those patients could be kept out of A&E, then it could save the NHS many millions of pounds.
Source: BBC, 21 March 2023
See also: Asthma and Lung UK- End the lung health lottery
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Minimum pricing averts alcohol deaths, study claims
A new report suggests the introduction of minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland has led to fewer alcohol-related deaths compared to England.
MUP started in 2018 and put a minimum charge of 50p on each unit of alcohol.
The study, published in The Lancet, estimates the policy has since averted 156 deaths a year.
Researchers tried to account for factors such as Covid and the complex causes of alcohol deaths when comparing data between Scotland and England.
This has led to the study's best estimate that, between May 2018 and December 2020, there was a "significant" 13.4% reduction in the types of deaths caused by heavy drinking in Scotland.
This estimate came from researchers comparing Scottish alcohol deaths to an estimate, using data from England, of the deaths that would have occurred had the MUP legislation not been implemented.
Researchers also found that reductions in heavy drinking deaths were greatest for men and for those living in the 40% most deprived areas of Scotland.
Dr Grant Wyper, public health intelligence adviser at PHS, said: "The findings highlight that the largest reductions were found for males, and for those living in the 40% most deprived areas, groups which are known to experience disproportionally high levels of alcohol health harms in Scotland.
"We know that those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas in Scotland experience alcohol-specific death rates more than five times higher compared to those living in the least deprived areas.
"The results published are therefore very encouraging in addressing this inequality, and the overall scale of preventable harm which affects far too many people."
Source: BBC, 21 March 2023
See also: The Lancet- Evaluating the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland: a controlled interrupted time series study
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Australia: Tighter import bans on e-cigarettes expected in bid to tackle ‘explosion in illegal vaping’
Australia’s drug regulator is expected to recommend sweeping import bans on vaping products.
This week the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will deliver its recommendations to the government on how vaping laws should be changed to tackle rising vaping rates, particularly among young people.
Health bodies including the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Cancer Council have united in their call for a blanket ban on the importation of all nicotine vaping products without a prescription.
It follows a consultation process that closed in January, with the TGA receiving about 4,000 submissions in response to proposed reforms, which included a complete ban on the importation of vaping products without a prescription from a GP, whether they contain nicotine or not. Tough laws around advertising are also expected.
The submissions will be published by the end of the week as the TGA provides its report of recommendations to the health department.
Source: The Guardian, 20 March 2023
See also: ASH- Resources on youth vaping
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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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