ASH News and Events Bulletin – 16-31 October 2013
HEADLINES
Tobacco News
Australia’s ‘plain packaging’ stubs out cigarette branding, prompting backlash
Opinion: Communication is a determinant of public health
Opinion: Menthol cigarettes: Stub out these seductive smokes
Opinion: Tobacco companies are savvy about the power of branding
Reducing tobacco consumption among low-income smokers
Scotland set to go it alone with standard packs for cigarettes
Should advertising for e-cigarettes be more tightly regulated?
Should we raise the legal age for buying cigarettes?
The benefits of Stoptober
UK medical journals will no longer consider research funded by tobacco industry
USA: Getting schooled on tobacco
What’s smoking doing to your body?
Parliamentary News
Debate: Tobacco Products Directive
Parliamentary question: E-cigarettes
Parliamentary question: E-cigarette
Parliamentary question: Smoking trends
Parliamentary question: Smoking: Young People
Parliamentary question: Passive Smoking: Children
Jane Ellison: All hands on deck
Industry Watch
Price hikes offset sliding sales at cigarette maker Philip Morris
BAT apologises for advertising e-cigarette in kids’ app
Japan Tobacco International posts revenue growth despite volume dip
US cigarette industry registered a 4% drop in sales through 2012
Are tobacco stocks no longer bulletproof?
Nicolites ‘kicks butt’ with sales campaign
Recent Research
New statistic model forecasts effect of tobacco consumption on childhood asthma
Novel delivery systems for NRT
Perceptions of users of plain and branded cigarette packs
Smoking might influence pain tolerance
EVENTS
E-Cigarette Summit: Science, Regulation and Public Health
Going Local: Tobacco control in the new public health landscape
Sex, Drugs and Roll ups: Risky behaviour and public health
Reducing Smoking Prevalence through Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Conference
SmokeFree Sports Research Seminar
Smoking Cessation: Protecting the Health of the Nation
Australia’s ‘plain packaging’ stubs out cigarette branding, prompting backlash
The Washington Post reviews the situation in Australia in respect of standardised packaging.
Source: Washington Post – 29 October 2013
Link: http://wapo.st/1cu8RDb
Opinion: Communication is a determinant of public health
An online platform for discussion of tobacco use in India provided a model for how health advocates might harness journalism to promote better health literacy, writes Chitra Subramaniam Duella
Source: BMJ – 17 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxQE4A
Opinion: Menthol cigarettes: Stub out these seductive smokes
As research suggests that menthol cigarettes make it easier to start smoking and harder to quit, Lawrence Carter, a US-based behavioural pharmacologist, explains why it’s time to stub them out for good.
Source: New Scientist – 21 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cuby7O
Opinion: Tobacco companies are savvy about the power of branding
The cigarette box has become iconic to each manufacturer and without realising it smokers have become walking adverts for the brand they smoke.
See also:
– Cigarette box advertising: A strong case for plain packaging, Packaging Gazette
Source: The Conversation – 24 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cuamRG
Reducing tobacco consumption among low-income smokers
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say high-priced cigarettes and smoke-free homes effectively reduce smoking behaviours among low-income individuals – a demographic in which tobacco use has remained comparatively high.
Writing in the American Journal of Public Health, principal investigator John P. Pierce, PhD, professor and director of population sciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues found that expensive cigarettes – $4.50 or more per pack – were associated with lower consumption across all levels.
Source: Medical News Today – 21 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cubCEv
Scotland set to go it alone with standard packs for cigarettes
The Scottish government said that it would press ahead with plans to outlaw all attractive packages for cigarettes next year.
Richard Matheson, Scotland’s Public Health Minister, said the Scottish Government would not break away from this important measure to help protect young people.
[subscription required]
Source: The Times – 16 October 2013
Link: http://thetim.es/GQPMwu
Should advertising for e-cigarettes be more tightly regulated?
Psychological research shows that advertising increases cravings and consumption. Natalia Lawrence, a senior lecturer in psychology and translational medicine at the University of Exeter, explores for the Guardian whether adverts for e-cigarettes trigger a desire to smoke.
See also:
– E-cigarette advertising rules to be rewritten, Marketing Week
– Agencies being careful not to get their fingers burnt, Campaign Live
Source: The Guardian – 25 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/17NCMP4
Should we raise the legal age for buying cigarettes?
Following a vote in New York City to raise the legal age for the purchase of cigarettes from 18 to 21, Channel 5 News debates the idea with anti-smoking campaigner Charlie Stebbings and US commentator Charlie Wolf.
[includes video]
See also:
– New York lifts smoking age to 21, The Guardian
Source: Channel 5 – 31 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cuaTmE
The benefits of Stoptober
It is estimated that nearly a quarter of a million people in England and Wales gave up cigarettes this month to reap the financial, social and health benefits from taking part in the mass 28-day stop smoking challenge, Stoptober.
Source: Female First – 29 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/16GvG3R
UK medical journals will no longer consider research funded by tobacco industry
The editors of Britain’s leading medical journal and its sister publications have announced they will no longer consider research that is funded by the tobacco industry.
The British Medical Journal, along with Heart, Thorax, and BMJ Open join a number other journals which have already ruled out industry-funded research.
Source: The Independent – 16 October 2013
Link: http://ind.pn/GQPyp0
USA: Getting schooled on tobacco
Dr. Howard K. Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, explains the need to change social norms surrounding tobacco consumption at college and university campuses.
Source: Telegram – 25 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cubTax
What’s smoking doing to your body?
In an attempt to move on from the grisly anti-smoking pictures found on cigarette packets, Finnish doctors have developed an interactive website to highlight the dangers.
Tobacco Body has been created in conjunction with the Cancer Society of Finland to show the damage smoking causes.
Source: Mail Online – 17 October 2013
Link: http://dailym.ai/1cub15B
Debate: Tobacco Products Directive
The following is an edited extract of a debate on the draft EU Tobacco Products Directive.
Lorely Burt (Solihull) (LD): I add my welcome to your elevation to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is the first time that I am benefiting from your wise direction; I am sure it will not be the last.
This is an opportunity to put the case for small retailers, who are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the sale of tobacco. A few weeks ago, I was visited by a delegation of small retailers, a number of whom were my constituents who were supported by the publication Asian Trader. Also at the meeting, and uninvited by me, were representatives of Imperial Tobacco. I was surprised to see them and wondered what role they had to play in the proceedings. They were attending, I was told, in a spirit of helpfulness, and offered their “help” to me until I explained in no uncertain terms that I was not a friend of the tobacco lobby. However, their presence did lead me to consider the amount of influence tobacco companies have in the retail industry, and the kind of messages they are giving to tobacco retailers.
Tobacco companies have a lot of money—it is a huge industry—but as purveyors of substances that kill one in two long-term users, they do not tend to be the most popular lobbyists around. I received an e-mail from a Liberal Democrat councillor, John McClurey, who has been a newsagent for more than 30 years. He suggested that the tobacco companies were using the good names of the small retailers to lobby Parliament with their own promotional messages. He also suggested they were circulating misinformation to tobacco retailers, with the aim of scaring them into becoming a voice for tobacco manufacturers.
When I met the retailers, there was no doubt in my mind that they believed passionately in what they were telling me, but knowing the involvement of the tobacco lobby led me to re-examine objectively what they were saying in the light of wider evidence. For example, on the European tobacco products directive, my retail friends told me that banning smaller quantities of tobacco—packs of 10 cigarettes and 20 grams of loose tobacco—was wrong because it discriminated against smokers on a tight budget and smokers aiming to give up. It undoubtedly does. However, it also discriminates against minors, who are extremely sensitive to price changes. These packs of 10 cigarettes have been dubbed “kiddie packs” because they are so popular with teenage smokers.
My retail friends also believe that smuggling is a growing scourge that will be made worse by the advent of plain packaging and ever-increasing duty. According to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, tobacco smuggling has more than halved in the past decade to 9% of total sales. I am not saying that 9% is not far too high, or that general statistics will help my friend Paul Cheema at his newly opened Kwik Save in Solihull if smuggled tobacco is being sold from a van near his shop. Nevertheless, despite tax hikes on cigarettes to the extent of 88% of the recommended retail price, the amount of tobacco smuggling has continued to decline. The tobacco multinationals’ concern about illicit trade needs to be evaluated in the light of their having paid billions in fines and payments to settle cigarette-smuggling litigation in the EU and Canada. They are being prosecuted for smuggling their own products, so their trying to unsettle small retailers, when some of their number are perpetrators of the problem, sounds a little hollow.
Is “plain packaging” not a misnomer, given that recent EU votes have confirmed that 65% of the packaging surface will have to carry writing and pictures warning prospective customers of the health dangers of the product? Other distinctive markings will also be required. The Government are therefore confident that plain packaging will be no easier to counterfeit when it comes under the scrutiny of government officials.
The European Parliament has voted for a ban on packs of 10 cigarettes; for a minimum weight of 20 grams for “roll your own” cigarettes; for banning characterising flavours, such as menthol, which are also particularly attractive to young people and women; and, as I just mentioned, for 65% of the surface carrying words and pictures informing people of the dangers of smoking. That is not in dispute. It has also voted against plain packaging; against the ban on slim cigarettes, which we know are particularly attractive to younger smokers and women; and against the ban on sales displays.
[…]
I will leave the final word to Councillor McClurey:
“I make more profit from selling a 50p packet of chewing gum than a packet of 10 cigarettes. Sale of cigarettes represents 50% of my turnover but only 14% of my gross profit. If my customers stopped buying cigarettes and bought a packet of chewing gum instead I would be a wealthier shopkeeper.”
I look forward to the day when our retailers make a much healthier profit, when they sell fewer cigarettes and more of other products that have a better sales margin. That would be a good deal and a fair deal for everyone.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Jane Ellison): It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) on securing a very timely debate. I enjoyed her thoughtful speech. I suspect that there will be things on which I cannot respond in quite the level of detail she would want, but she has posed all the important and current questions, and I will try to cover as many of them as I can.
We all agree that smoking has an enormously harmful impact on health. Nearly 80,000 people die in England every year from smoking-related illnesses, and the Government are obviously committed to reducing the number of those premature deaths—it is a priority for us—so this is a welcome opportunity to debate tobacco control. I will first take a moment, however, to highlight the UK’s international reputation on tobacco control. Successive Governments have demonstrated a commitment to improving public health through effective tobacco-control policies, and a wide range of measures have contributed to our long-term success. Over the past decade, complementary domestic and EU legislation has contributed to a decline in smoking prevalence among both adults and young people, and in England today the rate of adult smoking prevalence is under 20% for the first time. But clearly we want to keep making progress.
Since the 2001 tobacco products directive, there have been several scientific and international policy developments on tobacco control, an obvious one being the World Health Organisation’s framework convention on tobacco control, to which every EU member state and the European Commission are parties. It has become necessary to update the current directive, however, and that work is ongoing. The revised directive, to which the hon. Lady devoted much of her speech, proposes new requirements across a range of areas, including: the ingredients and emissions of tobacco products; labelling and packaging; product traceability and security features; cross-border distance sales; and novel and nicotine-containing products. The UK Government welcome the revised tobacco products directive and believe that the proposals will be good for public health across Europe, particularly in helping to prevent children from taking up smoking—it is of concern to us all that the vast majority of smokers started before they turned 18.
Our key objectives for the directive include: bigger pictorial health warnings; ending tobacco with characterising flavours, which the hon. Lady described, including menthol and fruit flavours; and requiring nicotine-containing products such as e-cigarettes to be regulated as medicines. During the negotiations, my predecessor and officials worked to secure adequate freedom for member states to introduce domestic policies within the scope of the directive that aim for a higher level of health protection where justified. That is important because we want to retain the freedom to do more if we want to. For example, we need the ability to introduce standardised packaging if we wish to do so.
Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD): Does the Minister share my concern that some packaging is clearly aimed at children—for example, there is one with a Lego-style pattern called “14”—and women, through pastel colours and so on?
Jane Ellison: Yes, I share that concern. I saw a presentation only last week with some of those adverts and imagery. As I said, it is a key priority of ours to prevent children and young people from taking up smoking, so anything that might contribute to their taking it up is extremely worrying.
The UK’s support for the general approach agreed at the June Health Council was important in securing the qualified majority needed to avoid losing hard-won negotiated improvements to the text of the directive. Hon. Members will also be aware that the European Parliament has been scrutinising the proposal, and this is obviously where we have had some recent pushback in some areas. We were pleased to see that, on 8 October, the Parliament agreed with the Council and voted to ban packs of cigarettes with fewer than 20 sticks, to increase health warnings to 65% of the front and back of packs, to make pictorial warnings mandatory throughout the EU—as they are already in the UK—and to prohibit characterising flavours.
It should be noted that the Council and the European Parliament rejected the Commission’s proposal to ban slim cigarettes, so that will not form part of the final revised directive. As the new Minister, I made inquiries into why that was the case, and I understand that there was not enough support among EU member states or parliamentarians for such a ban. We in the UK felt that we had to go with the majority to ensure the progress of the directive, as it will be good for public health overall. That was a pragmatic decision. Like the hon. Lady, I believe that this package of measures will help to reduce the number of young people who take up smoking in the UK.
We are currently considering the detailed amendments that the European Parliament would like to make. We were disappointed that the Parliament did not support the regulation of nicotine-containing products as medicines. We believe that the medicines regulatory regime, applied with a light touch, is the best fit for these products. Although I cannot say too much more about that now, we recognise that there is a lively ongoing debate on that subject, and it is one that we are engaged in. It is also vital that we maintain momentum on the overall negotiations over the coming months, so as to finalise the directive as soon as possible.
The hon. Lady devoted some time to considering what the tobacco products directive will mean for small retailers. As a Back Bencher, I was co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary retail group, and I heard many of the same representations that she mentioned. I recognise those concerns. We recognise that some of the proposals will have impacts on tobacco retailers in regard to the range and pack size of tobacco products that they will be able to sell. During the negotiations, as with all of our tobacco control measures, we continue to consider the impacts on all areas of society, including businesses large and small.
I share the hon. Lady’s doubt that introducing the proposed revised directive, if and when agreed, will have any immediate or drastic effect on small retailers. As she said, retailers face an ongoing challenge to diversify the range of products that they sell so that they are not over-dependent on tobacco sales. British retailers are, and always have been, the most innovative in responding to consumer needs and diversifying. The earliest any new requirements would be likely to take effect in the UK would be 2016, meaning that shopkeepers have time to start making changes now.
The hon. Lady made some interesting points on illicit tobacco. Like her, I have heard that some tobacco manufacturers and retailers believe that certain measures in the proposed directive could drive more smokers to purchase illicitly traded tobacco products. We are not aware of any peer-reviewed and published studies that show that that would happen. However, we are not complacent when it comes to counterfeit or non-duty-paid tobacco products in the UK. The illicit tobacco market is complex and decisions by individuals to get involved in purchasing illicit tobacco depend on a range of factors. The proposed directive envisages a Europe-wide tracking and tracing system for tobacco products, the details of which we are still negotiating in Brussels. The European Commission says that that will reduce the amount of illicit products in the EU. Security features against counterfeiting will also allow consumers to verify the legal status of the products. The hon. Lady suggested that we were perhaps paying insufficient attention to the security features on the packaging, because they are often not very plain at all.
I am glad that the hon. Lady has pointed out that the illicit market in cigarettes and roll-your-own has diminished significantly since the launch of the first Government tobacco strategy in 2000, with the mid-point estimate of the tax gap for illicit cigarettes decreasing from 21% in 2000-2001 to 9% in 2012-13, for example, according to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs data. The UK’s success in reducing illicit tobacco is in no small part due to successive Governments’ commitment to, and investment in, enforcement, and that remains a key part of our policy. We should also see further progress on illicit tobacco on a global scale when the new framework convention on tobacco control protocol on illicit trade is implemented.
[…]
I sympathise with the difficulties retailers face in ensuring that they do not make sales to under-age people. I also understand why some retailers feel that buying tobacco on behalf of a child should be an offence. However, we need to think carefully before introducing a proxy purchasing offence. I understand that the supply of cigarettes to children is a problem, but an offence of proxy purchasing would not necessarily tackle the wider problem of supply.
[…]
Let me finally touch on a couple of further points that the hon. Lady raised. As I have mentioned, the tobacco products directive does not seek to introduce standardised packaging, but it would allow the UK to proceed with that if we wanted to do so. The Government published a summary of the consultation responses, issued a written statement earlier this year and responded to an urgent question. As the hon. Lady knows and as I mentioned several times at Health questions last week, the Government have decided to wait before making a final decision on standardised packaging. The policy remains under very active consideration and the Government have not ruled out its introduction. We are assessing all the information available to us from Australia and elsewhere. I cannot give the hon. Lady a time frame, but I repeat the fact that the policy is under very active consideration. Some interesting information is coming in from around the world, not just from Australia.
We want member states to have the flexibility to make further progress on domestic tobacco control measures in certain key areas, potentially going beyond the new directive, and we have been helping to shape the final text of article 24 to try to achieve that as an objective. I hope the hon. Lady agrees that it is sensible to see what we can learn from other countries’ experience, but it is hard for me to speculate about what different impacts might be seen and when.
It has been a key strand of the Government’s commitment to reducing the take-up of smoking among young people that the display of tobacco has been prohibited in large shops such as supermarkets since April 2012. That display consultation happened under the previous Government. In April 2015, legislation extending the covering up of tobacco in all retail outlets will come into force.
I have endeavoured to try to cover all the points that the hon. Lady raised in her very thoughtful speech. As she recognises, the topicality of this debate is notable; many of the issues are being debated here and in the European Parliament. We are very much engaged in that debate. I look forward to hearing what other Members think and to hearing further from the hon. Lady on the important subject she has raised.
Source: Hansard – 28 October 2013 : Column 732
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxUue9
Parliamentary question: E-cigarettes
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety of e-cigarettes; what assessment he has made of whether e-cigarettes reduce usage of conventional cigarettes; and what steps he is taking to support smokers who have decreased their dependence on conventional cigarettes by using e-cigarettes.
Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom Government supports a requirement to licence nicotine containing products (NCPs) as medicines through European Union legislation and will continue to make the case for this position during the further negotiations on the draft Tobacco Products Directive. This is intended to ensure that products are available that meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to help users cut down their smoking and to quit and to reduce the harms of smoking to smokers and those around them.
During the period of research that informed the Government’s decision, the consistent evidence from a variety of sources was that most electronic cigarette users use the products to stop smoking or as partial replacement to reduce harm associated with smoking. There is some evidence from surveys that electronic cigarette users are having success in achieving their goals with many current electronic cigarette users being ex-smokers.
Unlicensed electronic cigarettes are not risk free. Known and reported risks include acute effects on lung function, possible pneumonia, and other risks related to poor product quality. These products on the market have not been shown to meet standards of safety and efficacy required of medicines regulation. Products tested had varying amounts of nicotine that usually did not match the amount labelled. Regulating them as medicinal products would mean that accurate information can be provided to health care professionals and the public about their quality and effectiveness. There is insufficient evidence currently to recommend the use of unlicensed products. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence tobacco harm reduction public health guidance only recommends the use of licensed nicotine replacement therapy (for example gums, patches), and recognises that little is known about the effectiveness, quality and safety of unlicensed NCPs.
Source: Hansard – 24 October 2013 Column 250W
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxUP0p
Parliamentary question: E-cigarette
Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider e-cigarettes to be an aid to smokers of tobacco to give up the habit; and whether they consider that their sales should be licensed and restricted.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): The United Kingdom Government supports a requirement to license nicotine-containing products as medicines through European Union legislation and will continue to make the case for this position during the further negotiations on the draft Tobacco Products Directive. This is intended to ensure that products are available that meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to help users cut down their smoking and to quit, to reduce the harms of smoking to smokers and those around them.
Unlicensed products currently on the market have not been shown to meet standards of safety and efficacy required of medicines regulation. By regulating them as medicinal products, we can provide accurate information to healthcare professionals and the public about their quality and effectiveness. There is insufficient evidence currently to recommend their use. The poor quality of many products on the market mean they are unlikely to work effectively and so help people to cut down and to quit tobacco cigarettes.
Medicines regulation would allow these products to be available on prescription via general practitioners, pharmacists and smoking cessation practitioners, as well as being sold as general sale medicines.
Source: Hansard – 21 October 2013 : Column WA138
Link: http://bit.ly/Hw8pXn
Parliamentary question: Smoking trends
Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 29 August (WA 382–3), what assessment they have made, based on the publication Statistics on Smoking, of (1) the percentage decline in the overall quantity of tobacco products consumed since the workplace smoking ban in 2007, (2) the comparative changes from then to a recent year in the number of hospital admissions due to smoking-related illnesses and the estimated number of deaths that can be attributed to smoking, and (3) the proportionate change in consumption of hand-rolling tobacco and manufactured cigarettes.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): Smokefree legislation commenced in England in July 2007. The aim of legislation is to provide protection from the hazards of secondhand smoke in enclosed work and public places.
An academic review of the evidence of the impact of smokefree legislation was published at the same time as Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. The evidence is clear that smokefree legislation has had beneficial effects on health. We also know that levels of compliance and public support are high. The Government believes that the aims of the legislation continue to be effectively achieved.
The following information compares figures for the latest available year with figures for the full year preceding commencement of smokefree legislation. The years in question vary according to the source of the data. The following changes described are not necessarily attributable to smokefree legislation.
A close proxy for the quantity of tobacco products consumed is given by information on the quantities of tobacco released for domestic United Kingdom consumption that are produced by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). UK figures for 1996 to 2012 are available in Table 2.11 of ‘Statistics on Smoking – England, 2013. The quantity of cigarettes released for domestic UK consumption has decreased by 17% between 2006 and 2012. This is based on cigarettes only and calculated using rounded figures.
The estimated number of admissions to National Health Service hospitals involving a primary diagnosis attributable to smoking increased by 4 % from 445,100 in 2006-07 to 462,900 in 2011-12. This information is available in Table 4.4 of ‘Statistics on Smoking – England, 2013′ and Table 5.2 of Statistics on Smoking, England, 2008′. The estimated number of deaths attributable to smoking decreased by 3% from 82,900 in 2007 to 80,000 in 2011. This information is available in Table 4.6 of ‘Statistics on Smoking – England, 2013′ and Table 5.4 of ‘Statistics on Smoking, England, 2008.
In 2006, 74 % of adults smoked mainly filter or plain cigarettes and 26 % smoked mainly hand rolled tobacco. In 2011, these figures were 66 % and 34 % respectively. This information is available in Table 2.4 of ‘Statistics on Smoking – England, 2013.
Full tables containing all the information are available from the following links:
Statistics on Smoking – England, 2013
Statistics on Smoking – England, 2008
Source: Hansard – 24 October 2013 : Column WA200
Link: http://bit.ly/Hw8J8r
Parliamentary question: Smoking: Young People
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to prevent young people taking up smoking.
Jane Ellison: Reducing the uptake of smoking by children is a public health priority for the Government because the Department estimates that, each year in England, over 300,000 children under 16 years old try smoking for the first time.
The Government’s comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to reduce tobacco use in England, set out in ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England’ (March 2011), includes a specific national ambition to reduce smoking rates among 15-year-olds in England to 12% or less by the end of 2015.
A range of action is being taken by the Government to reduce smoking rates, in particular the numbers of young people starting to smoke. We need to influence the adult world in which children grow up to stop the perpetuation of smoking from one generation to the next. The Tobacco Control Plan includes encouragement for communities across England to reshape social norms, so that tobacco becomes less desirable, less acceptable and less accessible.
The Government has stopped tobacco sales from vending machines, once an easily accessible and often unsupervised source of tobacco for children. Eye-catching displays of cigarettes, which can promote smoking by young people, have been covered in supermarkets and other large stores since April 2012 and will be covered in small shops in April 2015. A number of national marketing campaigns have been run to support smokers to quit. The Government has also continued to follow a policy of using tax to maintain the high price of tobacco products at levels that impact on smoking prevalence and has continued to tackle the availability of illicit tobacco.
The most recent information on young people’s smoking rates is available in ‘Smoking Drinking and Drug use among young people in England in 2012’. The report shows a continued downwards trend in smoking by young people and that 10% of 15-year-olds in 2012 were regular smokers.
Source: Hansard – 16 October 2013 : Column 770W
Link: http://bit.ly/Hw8TwA
Parliamentary question: Passive Smoking: Children
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of smoking in cars on the health of children; and what step he has considered taking to tackle this.
Jane Ellison: The Government’s comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to reduce tobacco use in England was set out in ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England’, published in March 2011. This acknowledges that children are particularly vulnerable to the harms from secondhand smoke and this is supported by evidence in the Royal College of Physicians’ 2010 report ‘Passive Smoking and Children’ and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health’s 2011 inquiry into smoking in private vehicles.
The Tobacco Control Plan for England states that:
“rather than extending smokefree legislation, we want people to recognise the risks of secondhand smoke and decide voluntarily to make their homes and family cars smokefree”.
The Government ran a hard- hitting marketing campaign, on this issue in spring 2012. Independent evaluation of the campaign showed it was successful in changing both attitudes and behaviour. The campaign was updated and repeated in June and July 2013. The effectiveness of this year’s campaign is currently being independently evaluated and the Department will review the findings carefully.
Source: Hansard – 21 October 2013 : Column 72W
Link: http://bit.ly/Hw88DW
Jane Ellison: All hands on deck
The internal magazine for the Houses of Parliament interviews the DoH’s newest minister, Jane Ellison, who explains she is determined to tackle Britain’s public health problem.
Source: Politics Home – 24 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1cuaK2F
Price hikes offset sliding sales at cigarette maker Philip Morris
Philip Morris International has lowered its profit guidance for the year, despite a five per cent rise in third quarter earnings.
The firm said volumes had been falling across the world, with shipments in the three months to the end of September down 5.7 per cent to 223.1bn units.
Shipments in the European Union were down 5.2 per cent and fell 7.8 per cent in Asia, following a tax hike in the Philippines.
The American company said its market share has been maintained despite the fall in volumes.
Source: City AM – 18 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/18rTN4A
BAT apologises for advertising e-cigarette in kids’ app
British American Tobacco has apologised after an advert for its Vype e-cigarettes brand was spotted in an iPad children’s app.
The ad was spotted by author and educator Graham Brown-Martin, who tweeted a screenshot showing the Vype banner appearing inside the My Dog My Style HD game.
After he alerted BAT’s corporate Twitter account, the company pulled its online advertising for Vype, then followed up with an apology and explanation.
See also:
– Children In Tobacco Adverts, Anorak
Source: The Guardian – 28 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/16Gv91P
Japan Tobacco International posts revenue growth despite volume dip
Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has reported growth in revenues in the third quarter and across the first nine months of 2013, driven by an increase in market share in some of its key markets.
In the third quarter of the year, core revenue at constant rates of exchange grew +5.7% (+3.3% on a reported basis) year-on-year, driven by a strong price/mix.
This revenue growth came despite declines in total and global flagship brands shipment volumes, down -5.1% and -1.8% respectively.
Source: The Moodie Report – 31 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxMgmf
US cigarette industry registered a 4% drop in sales through 2012
Retail volume sales within the US cigarette industry continued to decline in 2012, registering a 4% drop.
This maintained the downward trend witnessed through 2009, when volumes decreased by 9%, due to historic increases in tobacco taxation.
Source: My News Desk – 31 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxMtpp
Are tobacco stocks no longer bulletproof?
The threat of e-cigarettes has the potential to devalue tobacco stocks such that they are no longer seen as “bulletproof” investments, according to a leading fund manager.
There is recognition amongst investors that the emergence of a credible alternative to tobacco, combined with an increasingly hostile regulatory environment, means that fund holders can no longer be complacent about their tobacco investments.
See also:
– Tobacco lit for slow, steady burn, Investors Chronicle
– Feeding sticks into the fire, The Times (£)
Source: CityWire – 23 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/18O4yOQ
Nicolites ‘kicks butt’ with sales campaign
To coincide with Stoptober, Nicolites – the UK’s most popular e-cigarettes – has been investing in a month-long nationwide advertising and marketing campaign (called Swaptober) to encourage smokers to switch from traditional tobacco cigarettes to e-cigs.
Source: The Grocery Trader – 24 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxMPwo
New statistic model forecasts effect of tobacco consumption on childhood asthma
A scientific study recently published on International Journal of Statistics in Medical Research states that tobacco consumption must be decreased by 15% in Spain, particularly within the home, in order to reduce the number of childhood asthma cases.
The study presents a statistical and simulation model — based on the theory of conditional probability — to forecast the risk of childhood asthma episodes.
Source: Science Daily – 29 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxRIWh
Novel delivery systems for NRT
Abstract
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been used in the treatment of tobacco dependence for over three decades. Whilst the choice of NRT was limited early on, in the last ten years there has been substantial increase in the number of nicotine delivery devices that have become available. This article briefly summarises existing forms of NRT, evidence of their efficacy and use, and reviews the rationale for the development of novel products delivering nicotine via buccal, transdermal or pulmonary routes (including nicotine mouth spray, nicotine films, advanced nicotine inhalers and electronic cigarettes). It presents available evidence on the efficacy, tolerability and abuse potential of these products, with a focus on their advantages as well as disadvantages compared with established forms of NRT for use as an aid to both smoking cessation as well as harm reduction.
Shahab, L., et al., Novel Delivery Systems for Nicotine Replacement Therapy as an Aid to Smoking Cessation and for Harm Reduction: Rationale, and Evidence for Advantages over Existing Systems, CNS Drugs, October 2013
Source: Springer – October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxQfPC
Perceptions of users of plain and branded cigarette packs
Abstract
Background In an attempt to minimize the pack design avenue of communication between tobacco producers and smokers and potential smokers, several jurisdictions, including Norway, have considered regulations on cigarette pack design. The main aim of the current study was to investigate how package design affects young people’s perceptions of typical smokers of some pre-chosen cigarette brands and brand varieties.
Methods Based on data from a web survey among 1022 15–22 year-olds, possible effects of plain packaging of cigarettes on adolescents’ views about typical cigarette smokers were investigated. The data collection had a between-subjects design, in which participants were allocated to one of three groups, and asked to typify the smokers of selected cigarette packs either in branded, plain or plain with descriptor versions. The sample included boys and girls, and smokers and non-smokers. The smoker characteristics included in the investigation were: gender, glamour, stylishness, popularity, coolness, sophistication and slimness.
Results After creating sum-scores within and across packs and pack versions, analyses indicated that a shift from branded to plain cigarette packaging would result in a reduction in positive user images related to smoking among adolescents and young adults. For girls, this effect held up after controlling for confounders.
Conclusions To the extent that plain packaging contributes to making smoking images less positive, it can potentially be an efficient aid in reducing smoking uptake among adolescents.
Lund and Scheffels, Young smokers and non-smokers perceptions of typical users of plain vs. branded cigarette packs: a between-subjects experimental survey, BMC Public Health 2013, 13:1005 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-1005
Source: BMC – 24 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxPEgY
Smoking might influence pain tolerance
Smokers and former smokers are more sensitive to pain than non-smokers, according to conclusions drawn from the Norwegian Tromsø Study and presented at the Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC in Florence, Italy.
10,364 people participated in the study. 22.1% of the women and 18.8% of the men who took part were smokers, while 38.6% of the women and 46.8% of the men were former smokers.
The smokers had the lowest tolerance to pain induced by cold water, followed by the former smokers, and men and women who had never smoked had the highest pain tolerance.
These results suggest that nicotine consumption leads to a long-term hyperalgesic effect.
Source: Medical News Today – 15 October 2013
Link: http://bit.ly/1dxRbDO
Events
E-Cigarette Summit: Science, Regulation and Public Health
The E-Cigarette Summit will provide a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to examine the critical issues around the future of e-cigarettes, looking at the available evidence and independent research.
Date: 12 November 2013
Venue: Royal Society, London
Contact: www.e-cigarette-summit.com
Going Local: Tobacco control in the new public health landscape
The conference, to be hosted by the Smokefree Action Coalition, will examine the transition of tobacco control into local government. National and local leaders will offer their perspective on transition and the opportunities and risks it provides. The regional PHE offices will also be hosting a session where you can find out more about tobacco control in your region.
Places are free to organisational members of the SFAC, £100 for non members.
Date: 14 November 2013
Venue: Conway Hall, London
Contact: hazel.cheeseman@ash.org.uk
Sex, Drugs and Roll ups: Risky behaviour and public health
Public Health England’s Equality Forum is hosting this free seminar to explore the impact of sexual health, drugs and tobacco on marginalised communities and consider the potential of ‘nudge’ as an approach to behavioural change.
Date: 20 November 2013
Venue: Aston University, Birmingham
Contact: karen.carr@phe.gov.uk
Reducing Smoking Prevalence through Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Conference
As the new public health system has set itself the goal of reducing preventable deaths caused by smoking, this event explores delivering tobacco control and stop smoking services in new ways.
Date: 22 November 2013
Venue: Central London
Contact: http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/public-sector-conferences/health-social-care/full-conference/article/reducing-smoking-prevalence-through-tobacco-control-and-smoking-cessation.html
SmokeFree Sports Research Seminar
SmokeFree Sports was a novel intervention that used sport and physical activity to prevent smoking in primary school children. This seminar will present the findings from the project which involved 33 Liverpool schools (intervention) and 11 Knowsley schools (comparison).
This seminar will be relevant to representatives from academia, the public sector and the third sector that have an interest in smoking prevention and cessation.
Free event.
Date: 18 December 2013
Venue: James Parsons Lower Lecture Theatre, Liverpool John Moores University
Contact: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/paexchange/events/
Smoking Cessation: Protecting the Health of the Nation
This event will provide attendees with the current policy context of this important public health issue and outline the discussion on smoking prevention in the near future. This important briefing will examine critical questions, discuss leading developments and provide an opportunity to network with key stakeholders from the public, private and the third sectors.
Topics to be discussed include:
• Preventing avoidable deaths through stop- smoking schemes
• Harm reduction strategies in local tobacco control
• Supporting those with mental health conditions with their physical health needs
• Linking up public health and stop smoking services – making every contact with primary and secondary care count
• Protecting maternal health – stop smoking services during pregnancy
• Tackling illegal tobacco trade
Date: 23 June 2014
Venue: Central London
Contact: http://www.govknow.com/briefing-booking?eventId=671