The UK smokers’ group Forest says prioritizing smoking cessation with a view to reducing smoking prevalence in England to less than five percent by 2030 is an attack on choice and personal responsibility.
Responding to a statement released yesterday by Public Health England, Simon Clark, director of Forest, said millions of people smoked not because they were addicted but because they enjoyed it.
“No-one should be forced to stop smoking because of excessive regulations, punitive taxation or creeping prohibition,” he said.
“Prioritizing smoking cessation in order to create a ‘smoke free’ society would be an attack on choice and personal responsibility.
“If adults choose to smoke in full knowledge of the health risks and don’t want to quit that choice must be respected.”
Tag: United Kingdom
Standing up for smoking
Bring out the bins
A smokers’ lobby group today gave a cautious welcome to a new campaign to reduce cigarette litter but called on councils to provide more cigarette bins.
“It’s all very well demanding that smokers bin the butt, but where are the bins?”, asked Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest in responding to the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘BinTheButt’ campaign.
“Unfortunately many councils refuse to provide cig bins because they say it ‘normalises’ smoking. They can’t have it both ways.
“We’d be happy to support this campaign but if Keep Britain Tidy really wants to address the issue of cigarette butts they need to lobby councils to provide more bins.
“They also need to re-engage with the tobacco industry and work with consumer groups such as Forest.
“Meanwhile a bin the butt campaign that ignores the importance of bins is a bit of a joke, to be honest.”UK taxes too high
Eighty-six percent of UK adult smokers believe that tobacco prices are too high, while 56 percent agree that rising prices tempt them to buy untaxed tobacco, according to the results of a survey commissioned by the UK’s Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (UKTMA).
The survey of more than 12,000 adult smokers in the UK found that more than three-quarters regularly avoid UK taxes by buying tobacco from the black market, abroad or duty free.
It found that the number of smokers who avoid paying UK duty now stands at an all-time high, a finding that the UKTMA says supports HM Revenue and Customs analysis that untaxed and illicit tobacco remains a problem throughout the UK.
‘Moreover,’ the UKTMA said in a press note, ‘the findings confirm that adult smokers are being pushed towards non-UK-duty tobacco by high tobacco taxation, the introduction of plain packaging and the recent ban on minimum tobacco pack sizes.’
The key findings of the survey were said to be:- ’76 percent of adult smokers buy untaxed tobacco at least once a year – this can be from legal sources such as at duty free but also includes illegal sources such as from people in the pub or in street markets.’
- ’16 percent of adult smokers spend more than £1,000 on untaxed tobacco every year.’
- ’28 percent of smokers agree that plain packaging tempts them to buy untaxed tobacco.’
- ’37 percent of smokers agree that minimum pack sizes tempt them to buy untaxed tobacco.’
- ‘The average price for a pack of 20 illegal cigarettes is just £4.33 – almost half the typical legitimate UK price.’
- ‘London (85 percent) has the highest prevalence on non-UK duty paid tobacco purchases with Wales having the lowest (70 percent).’
- ’86 percent of adult smokers believe that tobacco prices are too high and 56 percent agree that rising tobacco prices tempt them to buy untaxed tobacco.’
- ’64 percent of adult smokers would support the re-introduction of duty free tobacco shopping from the EU post Brexit even if it was limited to 200 cigarettes or 250 g roll your own tobacco.’
‘These findings reinforce the concern that the illicit tobacco trade is continuing to be a major problem,’ the press note said.
‘Valued at £2.5 billion in 2016-17 by HRMC, the illicit tobacco trade reduces tobacco tax revenues, brings crime into communities, costs jobs and impacts legitimate business, particularly independent retailers.
‘The TMA recommends that, post-Brexit, the UK introduces fixed limits on personal tobacco imports to end the option for smokers to bring unlimited amounts of cheap tobacco back from the EU. This would reduce the opportunity for criminals to buy tobacco, claiming it is for personal use and then selling it on illegally.’
Giles Roca, the director general of the UKTMA was quoted as saying that the survey, now in its fifth year, had shown that the issue of untaxed tobacco was becoming an even greater problem across the UK.
“Smokers cite price as the chief reason for avoiding duty and with tax making up 90 percent of the price, combined with two duty increases in 2017 we can see the direct impact that the Government’s taxation policy is having,” Roca said.
“This survey also shows that the introduction of plain packaging and the ban on small packs of tobacco in the last year are also contributing to making the problem of untaxed tobacco purchases worse and encouraging smokers to buy from illegal sources.
“The Government needs to undertake a full review of its approach towards tobacco as their policies are contributing to this illegal activity, which affects local communities, public finances and small business.”Going down the drain
Half of the UK’s regular smokers believe it is acceptable to discard cigarette butts down a drain, despite expert warnings about the risk they pose to marine wildlife, according to a Press Association report published by the Daily Mail and citing the results of a survey.
The survey, carried out for the environment charity Keep Britain Tidy, found that 52 percent of daily smokers polled said they did not see a problem with getting rid of their cigarette butts in this way.
Meanwhile, only 53 percent of those surveyed said they realised the butts would end up in the sea when dropped down the drain.
Thirty-nine percent of those polled said they had discarded a butt in this way during the past month, despite 77 percent of them saying they were concerned that toxins from their cigarettes could harm marine life.
The survey of 4,146 people – including 502 smokers – was carried out by YouGov to mark the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s Flicking Blue Murder campaign, raising awareness of the link between cigarettes and the marine environment.
“Following Sir David Attenborough’s rallying cry to reduce plastic waste on Blue Planet II, we wanted to show how simple everyday behaviour can affect the environment,” said Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Allison Ogden-Newton.Seeing through the fug
A piece at spiked-online.com by Martin Cullip has brought some perspective to a row that has blown up over a recommendation contained in a report by the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on electronic cigarettes.
Cullip reported that the medical community had largely welcomed the Committee’s report, but that one aspect of it had led to uproar on social media. Many media outlets too had focused on this same small part of the report.
‘The objections all followed the same themes,’ Cullip wrote. ‘People were convinced that this would mean huge clouds of vapor in every place they visit. Many said e-cigarettes should “remain banned” in public places. Others declared that if vapers wanted to “kill themselves” they should do so in their own spaces and not subject others to “toxic” second-hand vapor.
‘Unwittingly,’ Cullip added, ‘every comment along those lines backed up the 66-page report’s conclusion that there is a huge misunderstanding about what e-cigarettes are and how they are used, and that this misunderstanding is hampering efforts to tempt smokers away from tobacco.
‘Firstly, vaping is not banned in public, as smoking is, and the government has consistently said it has no plans to change that.
‘Additionally, as the report clearly states, it has been “impossible to measure the risks from second-hand e-cigarette vapor because any potentially harmful compounds released into the surrounding area are so negligible”.
‘Restrictions on vaping in certain places have nothing to do with government and are not based on any public-health threat. Mostly, anti-vaping policies have been installed because those applying them don’t understand anything about e-cigarettes, so banning them is the simple and lazy option.
‘Pubs, businesses and, yes, train companies set their own policies. All the report is saying is that they should be better informed as to what e-cigarettes are and how they are encouraging smokers to quit at a rapid rate. Some may change their policy, some may not, but it is better that they understand the debate so that they can make a more informed decision.’Be afraid, be very afraid
The UK Government is moving the country on to a no-deal Brexit footing even though it says it believes a no-deal ‘scenario’ is unlikely.
It is issuing a series of ‘technical notices’ setting out ‘information to allow businesses and citizens to understand what they would need to do in a “no-deal” scenario, so they can make informed plans and preparations’.
One such notice provides ‘information to organizations, businesses and members of the public concerned with tobacco and related products, regarding changes to the regulation of such products in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the European Union (EU) in March 2019 with no agreement in place’. The notice does not include tax issues, however.
Some of the UK laws that regulate tobacco products and e-cigarettes implement the Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU and the Tobacco Advertising Directive 2003/33/EC, as well as a number of delegated and implementing acts made under the Tobacco Products Directive.
EU-derived policy and legislation regarding tobacco and related products cover areas including:- control of sale of products
- advertising
- product standards (such as ingredients of products and their emissions)
- and packaging.
The Tobacco Products Directive also sets reporting requirements for tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Manufacturers must submit specified information on ingredients and emissions for products before they are placed on the market.
‘If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place, the Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco Advertising Directive would no longer directly apply to the UK,’ according to a note at GOV.UK.
‘The UK domestic law that implements these directives, such as the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, would remain in force, with minor amendments to ensure it still works effectively after EU exit. These amendments would be brought in through regulations made under the EU (Withdrawal) Act powers and would come into force on exit day.
‘The amendments to UK tobacco legislation would include giving the UK government the power to update the legislation in response to emerging threats, changing safety and quality standards, and technological advances. These updating powers are likely to have minimal impact on industry. Their purpose is to make sure that the UK is still able to make technical changes after we leave the EU, where needed.’
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Government says it would:- ‘Create new domestic systems to allow producers to notify tobacco products and e-cigarettes in accordance with existing rules. Manufacturers will need to submit information on the new systems for any new products that they wish to sell in the UK.
- ‘Introduce new picture warnings for tobacco products as the copyright for the existing picture library is owned by the European Commission. Manufacturers will need to ensure that tobacco products which include picture warnings produced from Exit Day onwards will be labelled with the new picture warnings.’
The notice said the Government would be consulting on the technical details of both these issues in September ‘to ensure that changes are simple and effective, to minimise the burden of any changes’.
‘Inevitably, under a “no-deal” scenario the close working relationships that exist with our European partners would not be the same,’ the notice added. ‘The UK will, of course, continue to play an active role in the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.’
The Government says that further information on new systems for notification and picture warnings will be provided as part of the consultation and when the new legislation is introduced.No sin, no tax
Despite earlier fears, the UK Exchequer has no plans to introduce a new tax on vaping products.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) said yesterday that it had received a letter from HM Treasury in which the Exchequer Secretary, Robert Jenrick, said ‘we have no current plans to introduce a new tax on vaping products’.
Jenrick was writing to the UKVIA in response to an open letter that was signed also by the Center for Policy Studies, the Institute of Economic Affairs, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Adam Smith Institute, The Freedom Association and the New Nicotine Alliance.
Following media speculation at the beginning of this month that vaping products were to become the subject of a ‘sin tax’, the UKVIA pointed out that, according to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) figures, of the nearly three million UK vapers, more than half had given up smoking, and 97 percent were either smokers or ex-smokers.
It said that the value of health gains associated with a single successful quit attempt was £74,000 according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and therefore, the ASH figures suggested that vaping had already saved the UK in the region of £111 billion.
And it could save more, though it had to be borne in mind that the principal reason for people switching to vaping from smoking was that vaping was substantially cheaper.
In his response, Jenrick said he agreed that vaping had a role to play in reducing smoking, as set out in the Department of Health and Social Care’s Tobacco Control Plan ‘towards a smoke free generation’.
And he noted the UKVIA’s comments about the savings to the NHS and the statistics from ASH.Providing a vital service
The results of new research released yesterday reveals a more-than thirty-fold increase in the number of vape shops in the UK during the past five years – from less than 100 in 2013 to 2,850 in 2018.
The research, carried out by the Centre for Economic and Business Research on-behalf of Philip Morris Limited, found that the rapid spread of vape shops across the country has coincided with significant falls in the prevalence of smoking, with some of the largest declines in smoking rates during the past five years being observed in regions with a particularly prominent vaping sector.
On a wider front, vape shops are becoming a significant presence on the high street while other stores, particularly those of grocers, newsagents and electrical goods retailers, are in sharp decline. Forty percent of vape shops were found to be trading from premises that were previously vacant, and vape shop owners are estimated now to employ close to 6,000 people directly in-store.
A PM press note announcing the research findings said that UK sales of vape products had reached £1 billion in 2017 and that this was expected to reach £2 billion by 2020, according to Euromonitor International.
The research found that the North West was the UK’s number one vaping hotspot with 456 vape shops – one for every 2,019 adult smokers in the region. The region had experienced also one of the biggest declines in smoking prevalence, with the adult smoking rate falling by four percent between 2013 and 2017.
“This research clearly shows the huge contribution vape shops are making in helping smokers switch away from cigarettes,” Mark MacGregor, PMI UK corporate affairs director, was quoted as saying. “According to ASH, 50 percent of all smokers do not realise that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than smoking. Vape shops have an incredibly important role to play in raising awareness of the various alternatives to smoking, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco.”
Top 5 hotspots
Vaping hotspots by total number of vape shopsVape shops (2018) Smoking prevalence 2013 Smoking prevalence 2017 Change in smoking prevalence North West 456 20.0% 16.1% -4.0% South East 319 17.2% 13.7% -3.5% London 309 17.1% 14.6% -2.5% Yorkshire and the Humber 304 20.5% 17.0% -3.5% West Midlands 265 17.8% 14.2% -3.5% Smoke and mirrors
Campaigners have urged the UK Government to tackle the problem of drugs and violent assaults in England’s prisons by amending the prison smoking ban and allowing designated smoking areas.
The call follows an announcement by prisons minister Rory Stewart on Friday that he will resign if the use of drugs and assaults do not fall in 10 problem jails.
In June, Stewart tweeted: ‘Delighted to confirm that we have just achieved one hundred per cent smoke free prisons’.
‘Incidents of self-harm and assaults in prisons are at record levels and the use of illegal drugs is rife, yet the government insists on banning tobacco, a legal product,’ said Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest.
‘Allowing prisoners to smoke might actually help address the far more serious problems Rory Stewart is trying to solve.
Clark said that by offering to resign if his program of reforms didn’t succeed, Stewart had shown himself to be an honourable politician.
But he also needs to be pragmatic and in the real world a substantial number of prisoners enjoy smoking, Clark added.
‘No-one should be surprised that if you take away one of their few pleasures there will be negative consequences.
‘We challenge Mr Stewart to test the theory by allowing designated smoking areas in half of the ten problem prisons he has chosen to target.
‘He can then compare one set of prisons against the other to see if permitting smoking makes any difference to the problem of drugs and violent assaults.’E-cigs: the ray of hope
A new report exploring General Practitioners’ prescribing practices for quitting services and treatment in the UK has revealed that 75 percent fewer ‘stop smoking’ aids were dispensed in 2016-17 than in 2005-6, according to a story on Practice Business.
The report, published by the British Lung Foundation, was said to have reflected on the impact this decline is likely to have on patients and healthcare provisions in the long-term.
In taking a closer look at ‘what GP practices can do to push forward in the fight against smoking and to support cessation’, Practice Business looked in part at the question of vaping, under the heading: To vape or not to vape; advice on e-cigarettes.
For people who smoked and who were using, or were interested in using, a nicotine-containing e-cigarette on general sale to quit smoking, Practice Business quoted NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines.
These guidelines apparently say that though these products are not licensed medicines, they are regulated by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016; and that many people have found them helpful to quit smoking cigarettes.
‘People using e-cigarettes should stop smoking tobacco completely, because any smoking is harmful,’ the guidelines say.
‘The evidence suggests that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful to health than smoking but are not risk-free; the evidence in this area is still developing, including evidence on the long-term health impact.’
