Tag: United Kingdom

Reporting harm reduction
British American Tobacco yesterday published its 2018 Harm Reduction Focus Report, which looks at the company’s strategy of ‘transforming tobacco’ by seeking to provide consumers with satisfying, reduced-risk alternatives to smoking.
‘This new report highlights BAT’s continued commitment to contributing to tobacco harm reduction,’ the company said in a note posted on its website. ‘It demonstrates how the company has made tremendous progress in its long-held ambition to provide consumers with less risky tobacco and nicotine choices. Adult consumers are offered a much broader range of alternatives than ever before, including vapor products, tobacco heating products and oral tobacco and nicotine products in 28 countries globally.’
BAT said the report focused also on how the company was maximising the potential of its products to contribute to harm reduction by continuously investing in innovation, building reliable evidence backed by robust science, and driving responsible growth of the industry through collaborative efforts.
“At BAT, we’re committed to transforming tobacco by providing consumers with satisfying alternatives to smoking,” chief executive Nicandro Durante was quoted as saying. “Without the right products, tobacco harm reduction will never be a reality, which is why our approach is centred on developing an outstanding product portfolio.
“But these products can only meet their potential if the right regulatory and market conditions are in place. Stakeholders from across government, industry and public health need to continue to work together to create an environment for tobacco harm reduction to be successful.
“As I come to the end of my eight-year tenure as CEO of this fantastic company I am immensely proud of the progress we have made with regards to harm reduction. But this is just the beginning of BAT’s mission to transform tobacco.”
The report highlights are said to include:
- Expert viewpoints from BAT’s senior leadership in which Durante comments on BAT’s progress in its commitment to harm reduction under his leadership, and in which scientific and R&D director Dr. David O’Reilly writes about the transformation of the tobacco industry and what it means for BAT.
- An expert stakeholder viewpoint from Dr. Saul Shiffman, a professor of clinical and health psychology, who has been conducting behavioral research on nicotine and tobacco for 45 years.
- Information on BAT’s diverse range of potentially reduced-risk products (PRRPs) – from vapor products and tobacco heating products, to oral tobacco and nicotine products – that are now available in 28 countries.
- An overview of the scientific assessment framework BAT has developed to assess the reduced-risk potential of its products.
- A reference to the growing body of independent evidence that demonstrates the reduced risk of emerging tobacco and nicotine alternatives to smoking.
- The importance of effective regulation, including product quality, and safety standards.
- BAT’s continued commitment to tobacco harm reduction – how it will continue to invest in seeking to develop less risky alternatives to cigarettes, provide sound science behind its products, engage with regulators to raise awareness about the potential benefits of PRRPs, and responsibly market its products to adult consumers looking for potentially less risky alternatives.
December 11, 2018
Okay, just a puff
While vapers may suffer the occasional smoking lapse, they don’t necessarily see such a lapse as ‘game over’ for their quit attempt, and it doesn’t have to lead to a full relapse, according to a story at medicalxpress.com describing new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK.
The research findings, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, suggest that vaping encourages not just smoking cessation, but long-term relapse prevention.
Lead researcher, Dr. Caitlin Notley, of the UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said electronic cigarettes were the most popular aid to quitting smoking in the UK, and that her research team had wanted to discover what happened when people who had switched to vaping lapsed back into smoking.
“In the past, a brief smoking lapse would almost always lead to a full relapse, and people would usually feel like a failure for slipping up,” said Notley. “But this was before people started switching to vaping.
“The difference is that, for some vapers, the odd cigarette was thought of as being ‘allowed’. For others, an unintentional cigarette made them even more determined to maintain abstinence in future.
“Either way, it didn’t necessarily lead to a full relapse back into smoking…
“Because vaping is a more pleasurable alternative, our research found that a full relapse into smoking isn’t inevitable when people find themselves having the odd cigarette.
“There has been a lot of theorising around the process of smoking relapse after quit attempts. But all of these date back to pre-vaping times. This fresh evidence makes us question the usefulness of that understanding now that so many people are choosing to switch to vaping.
“For ex-smokers, vaping offers a pleasurable, social and psychological substitute to cigarettes – and it powerfully alters the threat of relapse. The old ‘not a puff’ advice may need revisiting.”
November 30, 2018
Vaping is not smoking
A group of cross-party MPs is today calling for the UK Parliament to act as an example for other public places by becoming vape friendly, according to a press note issued by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Current arrangements in the parliamentary estate, which includes both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, are said not to cater adequately for the needs of vapers.
The call is being made as part of the Vaping in workplaces and public places report, which was due to be presented today at the launch of the re-named All Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping, chaired by the MP for Rugby, Mark Pawsey (pictured at the launch of a previous report.)
It comes in the wake of increasing evidence that vaping can be used for smoking cessation. Public Health England says that vaping is 95 percent less harmful than smoking and has helped three million smokers to quit or reduce their habit.
However, many vaping policies are not helpful, with some employers banning vaping in workplaces or even during working hours. Most recently, Dundee Council in Scotland threatened employees with disciplinary action if they vaped during working hours.
Key recommendations made in the report include:
- Employers should have a specific workplace vaping policy that balances the needs of current vapers and smokers looking to switch to vaping with those of non-vapers.
- Public places should have specific vaping policies that are separate from smoking regulations.
- Public Health England (PHE) should expand its vaping awareness program to correct some of the public misconceptions around vaping and so-called ‘passive vaping’.
- Vapers should vape in a responsible way that respects non-vapers.
Pawsey was quoted as saying that employers had an opportunity to help the Government achieve its ambitious target of reducing the incidence of smoking to under 12 percent by 2022. “For this to happen, it is imperative that we encourage employees trying to quit through vaping, by offering flexible workplace vaping policies,” he said.
“But it makes no sense for politicians to ask UK businesses to become more vape friendly, whilst our own workplace does not practice what we preach. There are just two vaping areas in Parliament, but most MPs and staff members who vape are not even aware where these are located. Often this leads to people simply going to a smoking area to vape which is incredibly counter-productive and contrary to guidance from Public Health England. Having Parliament becoming vape friendly would send a strong message about the benefits of vaping for those people who smoke at workplaces and public places across the UK.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Jakes, chair of the New Nicotine Alliance, described the UK as a world leader in vaping regulation. But she said the potential health benefits for smokers would be lost if people were restricted from using them everywhere.
“This report sets out sensible guidelines to help workplaces and other public spaces set policies which will encourage switching to safer alternatives, whilst considering the needs of those who would prefer to avoid the vapor,” she said.
Dan Marchant, board member of the UK Vaping Industry Association, made the point that while vaping was not smoking, time and again vaping was treated in the same way as smoking in workplaces, stations, pubs and sporting arenas across the UK.
“This is usually because of a misconception that inhaling second-hand vapor is the same as passive smoking, or because vaping is viewed as an anti-social behaviour,” he said. “In fact, there is no scientific evidence of harm from second-hand vapor, and most responsible vaping happens without bystanders even noticing.”
November 20, 2018
New approach needed
The New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) is calling for a new approach by the UK’s public health bodies toward vaping and the consumption of other safer nicotine products.
The NNA, which is a charity concerned with improving public health through a greater understanding of risk-reduced nicotine products and their uses, said in a press note issued today that warring factions in public health were contributing to the confusion and mistrust surrounding effective alternatives to smoking.
‘If the public’s health is to be properly served by state-funded organizations, accurate and impartial information is key,’ it said.
‘Misperceptions are harmful, breed intolerance, and are exacerbated by bans and restrictions on proven safer products.
‘If public health advocates wish to see further reductions in smoking, public health needs to come together and win over hearts and minds.’
The NNA’s call for a new approach toward safer nicotine products will be reiterated today by its chair, Sarah Jakes (pictured), who is speaking at the E-Cigarette Summit at the Royal Society.
The NNA is concerned that the public has been bombarded with ‘less-than-honest propaganda from ideologically-motivated sources on products which carry a reduced risk, and which have contributed to the lowest smoking prevalence rates in the UK’s history’.
“The public need to be able to trust that the information given to us by public health authorities is accurate and complete,” Jakes was due to tell the Summit.
“[T]he vast majority of the public are not scientists, so they go with what they perceive to be a trustworthy source of information. But who can you trust when the authorities and experts are so divided?”
Jakes will highlight the ‘febrile’ political debate currently taking place in the US, where, she says, truth about vaping has been abandoned in favor of moral posturing that serves no positive purpose for US smokers. She will urge campaigners to settle their ideological differences for the benefit of those they are tasked to help.
“The vast majority of vapers don’t advocate, or even identify as vapers,” she will say. “They are simply people getting on with their lives who also happen to vape. This silent majority are mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers and sisters with ordinary and extraordinary lives to lead but our humanity is often obscured from view when the label of ‘vaper’ is applied.
“As long as the apparent controversy continues, the public will trust only what they see with their own eyes, and what they see is bans, restrictions, warning labels and something that looks like smoking.
“Misperceptions are harmful in more ways than one. They breed intolerance, which supports restrictive policy, which in turn creates more misperceptions and more intolerance. Is it any wonder that many smokers don’t see the point of switching?”
The NNA makes the point that smokers and vapers are not merely numbers in a dataset, or a trend on a graph. They are ‘real people and should not be pawns in a political power game between different factions of the public health community’. A new, more sympathetic approach was required.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that behind every data point is a real person with strengths and weaknesses, desires and ambitions, and that every life is precious,” Jakes will say.
November 15, 2018
New Imperial board member
Imperial Brands has appointed Sue Clark as an independent non-executive director of the company.
Clark is due to join the Board from December 1 and to become a member of both the Remuneration and the Succession and Nominations committees.
In a note posted on its website, Imperial said Clark had significant international executive-committee and board-level experience in the FMCG, regulated transport and utility sectors.
‘She held a number of senior commercial positions during a 13-year career with SABMiller plc, including managing director Europe and director of corporate affairs.
‘Sue is a member of the Supervisory Board and Remuneration Committee at Akzo Nobel N.V., a non-executive director and chair of the Remuneration Committee at Britvic plc, a non-executive director and member of the Remuneration and Audit Committees of Bakkavor Group plc and a non-executive director of Tulchan Communications LLP and Heriot-Watt Business School.
“I’m delighted to welcome Sue to Imperial Brands,” chairman Mark Williamson was quoted as saying.
“Her international experience in FMCG and regulated businesses together with her experience in major corporate transactions and governmental and regulatory relations will be a great asset to the Board.”
November 13, 2018
E-cig ad rules changed
The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has changed its rules so that health claims are no longer banned from advertisements for electronic cigarettes.
In a note posted on its website, the ASA said that the change had been made by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP and BCAP) following an extensive consultation.
The change was welcomed by Dan Marchant, board member of the UK Vaping Industry Association and MD of VapeClub, who said that Public Health England had been clear that vaping was at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
And he said that vaping’s potential to help smokers quit had been backed by public health groups from the Royal College of Physicians to Cancer Research.
“But despite this support, it has previously not been possible for us to spread the positive news to consumers, and the public perception of vaping has suffered as a result,” he said.
“Although some questions remain about how the new rules will be applied to particular products and businesses, it is right that advertising rules are now starting to catch up so we can share factual information with smokers about this potentially life changing alternative.
“Only by building confidence in the health benefits of vaping will it be possible to convince every smoker that switching to vaping could positively change their lives.
“However, it also remains the case that the ability of the industry to advertise its products is still constricted by the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive which only allows advertising in very limited forums with no apparent consistency.
“The UK’s exit from the EU provides an ideal opportunity to amend these rules to further bring advertising regulations into line with vaping’s recognised public health potential.”
CAP and BCAP’s evaluation of the responses to its consultation is here.
CAP and BCAP’s regulatory statement is here.
November 12, 2018
E-cigs have vital role
Twenty-nine per cent of health professionals would not recommend electronic cigarettes to cancer patients who already smoked, according to research presented at the 2018 NCRI [UK National Cancer Research Institute] Cancer Conference, according to an NCRI story published at medicalxpress.com.
While vaping e-cigarettes might pose some health risks, the story said, evidence suggested it was much less harmful than was smoking.
Health bodies, including Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians, had given support for the use of e-cigarettes as a less harmful alternative.
Researchers said their findings had highlighted the need for clearer guidance and training for health professionals around endorsing e-cigarettes to cancer patients who smoked.
The study was presented by Dr. Jo Brett, a senior research fellow in the faculty of health and life sciences at Oxford Brookes University, UK.
“Smoking is a well-established risk factor for many common cancers,” she said. “It is the single biggest avoidable cause of cancer in the world.
“Problems caused by smoking continue after a cancer diagnosis. It increases the risk of treatment complications, cancer recurrence and the development of a second primary tumour, leading to an increased risk of death. So it’s vital that these patients are encouraged to stop smoking.
“E-cigarettes are now the most popular intervention for smoking cessation in the UK.
“However, little is known about health professionals’ knowledge and attitude towards e-cigarettes and whether they are endorsing use of e-cigarettes with cancer patients.”
November 8, 2018
New BAT regional director
Luciano Comin, currently British American Tobacco’s regional head of marketing, Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa (AMSSA), has been appointed to succeed Kingsley Wheaton as regional director, AMSSA.
Comin is due to start his new role on January 1 as Wheaton takes up his new role as chief marketing officer.
During his 26-years at BAT, Comin has held many roles, including marketing director Venezuela, marketing director Mexico and GM Mexico. He was regional marketing manager for Western Europe before taking up his current role.
November 7, 2018
NGP portfolio heating up
Imperial Brands’ volume shipments of cigarettes and other tobacco products calculated as ‘stick equivalents’ (SE) during the 12 months to the end of September, at 255.5 billion, were down by 3.6 percent on those of the 12 months to the end of September 2017, 265.2 billion.
Within that overall volume, US-market volume was down by five percent to 22.1 billion.
In announcing its preliminary results for the year to the end of September, the company said that while its volume was down by 3.6 percent, it had outperformed industry volumes across its footprint.
It had achieved share growth in many of its priority markets, while its Growth Brand share had risen by 0.7 of a percentage point.
And it had enjoyed strong performances from ‘tobacco Specialist Brands: Backwoods, Kool, Rizla, Skruf and Premium Cigars’.
An improved price/mix had delivered tobacco net revenue growth of 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Imperial said it was delivering strong growth in next generation products focused on smoker conversion.
It was delivering a satisfying, safer experience with a trusted brand, blu, supported by leading-edge science
And it had a strong innovation pipeline focused on reduced risk products in the categories of vapor, heated tobacco and oral nicotine.
Pulze, the company’s first heated tobacco product, was planned to be launched in early 2019.
Tobacco and NGP (next generation products) net revenue was down by 0.3 percent, from £7,757 million to £7,730 million; tobacco and NGP adjusted operating profit was down by 1.1 percent, from £3,595 million to £3,557 million; distribution adjusted operating profit was increased by 17.3 percent from £181 million to £212 million; total adjusted operating profit was increased by 0.1 percent from £3,761 million to £3,766 million; and adjusted earnings per share were up by 1.9 percent from 267.0p to 272.2p.
‘FY18 was a successful year of delivery against our strategy and I’m pleased with the progress we are making in creating something better for the world’s smokers,’ said chief executive, Alison Cooper.
‘In NGP our main focus is on transitioning smokers to blu, a significantly less harmful alternative to cigarettes.
‘NGP also offers additive opportunities for our shareholders and the success of the international rollout of my blu has put us in a strong position to further invest and accelerate sales growth in FY19.
‘In tobacco we focus on providing smokers with an evolving portfolio of high-quality brands.
‘Following our additional brand investment in tobacco over the past two years, we have increased Growth Brand volume, share and revenue in our priority markets.
‘Our financial delivery was strong, with revenue and earnings growth, high cash generation and a further dividend increase of 10 percent.
‘Capital discipline remains central to all our activities, providing funds for investment and enhancing returns.
‘We have the strategy, assets and capabilities to realise the significant opportunities presented by a changing environment and to generate growing returns for our shareholders.’
November 6, 2018
Women addicted to men!
As it’s the end of the week when anything goes, it might be instructive to report that a recent newspaper heading had it that: Women are more likely to be addicted to cannabis than men, suggests study.
This is interesting in several ways. For instance: is it being claimed that women are addicted to men?
In today’s climate, this seems a little rash.
But, never mind, it seems that the gravitational pull of men is not that strong. The story under the heading goes on to say that the new study ‘has revealed that women may be enjoying the [cannabis] high more than men’.
And why wouldn’t they? You can have an intelligent conversation with a reefer.
November 2, 2018