News

Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England

03 February 2012 The Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England have been updated with 2011 figures. The tool, developed by the Association of Public Health Observatories, brings together a detailed picture of the burden of smoking-related disease for every local authority and primary care trust in England. The tool consists of a set of indicators detailing local smoking prevalence data, levels of smoking in pregnancy, deaths from specific tobacco-related diseases as well as hospital costs of treating tobacco related diseases and local smoking cessation data. The data can be accessed on the London Health Observatory website, here.

No Smoking Day 2012

06 December 2012 No Smoking Day 2012 is taking place on 14 March. Visit the No Smoking Day website: www.nosmokingday.org.uk for details of how to organise an event and information about other events in your area.

New Tobacco Control Plan for England

09 February 2011 The Government has launched a new Tobacco Control Plan which sets out the next phase of tobacco policy in England. The Plan includes clear goals to reduce adult smoking prevalence from 21% to 18.5% by 2015 and to reduce smoking rates among 15 year olds from 15% to 12% by 2015 and to reduce smoking in pregnancy from 14% to 11% by 2015. The Plan also commits to ending the display of tobacco products in large shops in England by April 2012, and in small shops by April 2015. Click here to find out more.

Tackling tobacco - a New Year's resolution for the government

24 December 2010 Jean King, Cancer Research UK's Director of Tobacco Control, has responded to an article by the President of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents on the Lib Dem Voice website on the point of sale display of tobacco products. Jean makes a strong case for the need for such displays to be banned and counters the arguments repeated by the tobacco industry and their supporters. She explains that whilst the introduction of plain packs would be an extremely important step, this would not eradicate the need for a display ban. Jean's article can be seen on the LibDem Voice website here.

Have your say on the future of public health in England

24 December 2010 Following the publication of its White Paper on public health: Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England the government has launched consultations on: • funding and commissioning for public health • the public health outcomes framework Both consultations run from 21 December 2010 to 31 March 2011. The consultation on the proposed public health outcomes framework, Healthy Lives, Healthy People: transparency in outcomes, proposals for a public health outcomes framework (pdf), explores the proposed public health outcomes framework. The consultation on the proposed funding and commissioning for public health, Healthy lives, healthy people: consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health, explores the proposed funding and commissioning routes for public health, including the ring-fenced budget provided to local authorities.

Public Health White Paper: No going back on Smokefree England

30 November 2010 The Government has published its White Paper on public health: Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England. The White Paper sets out the Government's proposals for setting up a Public Health Service including the outline of a tobacco control strategy. A full plan is promised within months. In the meantime the Government makes it clear that: • it will not compromise smokefree legislation, • it will implement the ban on vending machines as planned, • it will make an announcement very soon on point of sale displays and • it will consult on plain packaging. In an earlier statement, Andrew Lansley had acknowledged that: "The evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers... It's wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets." Pointing out that the NHS spends over £2.7 billion a year on treating smoking related illness, but less than £150 million on smoking cessation, the White Paper confirms that reducing smoking rates remains a priority for public health, and provides more details of the transfer for public health, including smoking cessation, to Local Authorities. On the heels of the commitment from the Government to implement the ban on vending machines in England as planned comes the news that Sinclair Collis, a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco and the major operator of tobacco vending machines in the UK, have had their challenge of the ban rejected in the High Court. They are planning to appeal.

UK Government to replace tobacco industry "con" with plain packaging

22 November 2010 On Sunday November 21 Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced that he was "looking at the idea of making tobacco firms have completely plain packaging on their killer brands" so that only basic information and health and picture warnings would be visible. In a strongly worded statement the Department of Health said "light colours on packets has been shown to con children and adults alike into falsely believing that one brand is somehow less harmful than another". In a statement which appeared to endorse the principle of BOTH plain packaging and a tobacco product display ban Andrew Lansley said "the evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers, so it makes sense to consider having less attractive packaging. It's wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets." ASH has been campaigning for plain packaging for several years but cautioned that the offer of plain packaging some time in the future is no substitute for implementing existing law to end tobacco displays due to come into force in less than a year. Martin Dockrell, Director of Policy and Research at ASH said: "Putting tobacco in plain packs would be an historic step for public health and an amazing centrepiece for Lansley's promised Public Health Strategy. Industry marketing men have become increasingly pushy with pack design, making it a 21st Century billboard, identifying this brand as "cool", that brand as "feminine". That is why it is so important to end the lavish displays behind the sweets in shops but it cannot be a question of one or the other. If the effect of this move was to kick the display ban into the long grass, it would backfire horribly on the Government. It could be years before Lansley's proposed law comes into effect, while the display ban can and must come in next year as planned." Click here for further information on plain packaging.

Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England

28 October 2010 A new tool developed by the Association of Public Health Observatories brings together, for the first time, a detailed picture of the burden of smoking-related disease for every local authority and primary care trust in England. The tool consists of a set of indicators detailing local smoking prevalence data, levels of smoking in pregnancy, deaths from specific tobacco-related diseases as well as hospital costs of treating tobacco related diseases and local smoking cessation data. The data can be accessed on the London Health Observatory website, here.

An open letter to Vince Cable

21st October 2010 In an open letter published in the New Statesman, Peter Kellner, president of YouGov and Trustee of ASH, explains to Business Minister Vince Cable why it is time to stop listening to the tobacco industry when it comes to implementing the tobacco control elements of the Health Act 2010. Read the full letter here.

MPs reject bid to reintroduce smoking in pubs

13th October 2010 The Commons has voted to reject a bid by MP David Nuttall to exempt pubs and private members' clubs from the smokingfree legislation. Under his 10 minute rule bill, landlords and licensees would have been allowed to have dedicated smoking lounges for drinkers on their premises, complete with smoke filters. The motion to introduce the Public Houses and Private Members' Clubs (Smoking) Bill was defeated by 141 votes to 86, a majority against of 55. Read the full transcript of the debate, (in particular Kevin Barron's speech quoting opposition to the Bill by a pub landlord from David Nuttall's own blog) in Hansard here.

Finland to ban Point of Sale display by 2012 in plan to "end smoking"

04 October 2010 Tough new laws aimed at eventually eradicating the use of tobacco in Finland have come into effect as of 1 October, even as a report emerged from Russia that its government is also considering more stringent regulations. With the new laws, Finland has become the first country in the world to specifically introduce legislation that aims to end, and not just reduce, tobacco use. The first phase will see people under the age of 18 being completely banned from possessing tobacco products, and it has become a criminal offence to buy or give minors tobacco, punishable by up to six months in prison. The rules also make it illegal to buy or sell tobacco products over the Internet, to use tobacco in places frequented by minors, or smoke in spectator stands for all outdoor events. The next phase, due in 2012, will make it illegal to display tobacco products in stores, and in 2015 all cigarette vending machines will be banned.

Shop survey reveals tight control of tobacco product display by UK tobacco companies

07 June 2010 A survey of over 100 small shops in England shows that tobacco companies have almost total control over the way tobacco is displayed and marketed. Key findings: • 79% of retailers who had a tobacco industry funded gantry were forced to comply with certain conditions relating to the size and type of display, and positioning of key brands. • Around a third of independent retailers reported receiving an incentive from the tobacco company reps for selling their products. • Typical gifts include pens, free packs of cigarettes and competitions with prizes including a complete shop re-fit. Link to ASH press release Rooke, C. et al. Tobacco point of sale (PoS) displays in England: a snapshot survey of current practices. Tobacco Control 2010 (in press)

Benefits of increasing tobacco taxes

06 March 2010 A new report commissioned by ASH has shown that raising tobacco prices through taxation by 5% above inflation would result in significant cost savings to the nation. Specifically, it would: • lead to a reduction in the number of smokers by 190,000 • save the NHS over £20m a year by reducing the cost of treating smoking related diseases • increase tax revenues by over £500 million a year – a total of £2.6bn in the first 5 years. The full report: The Effects of Increasing Tobacco Taxation: A cost benefit and public finances analysis can be found here and the summary here (pdf files). Link to ASH press release.

A short video by ITN summarising the issues:

Government launches new tobacco control strategy

01 February 2010 The Government's tobacco control strategy launched on 1 February 2010 heralds the start of the next phase in tobacco control in England. The new strategy includes ambitious, yet realisable, goals to dramatically reduce smoking rates among adults and children. The primary goals are to: • Reduce smoking among 11-15 year olds from 6% now to under 1% by 2020 • Reduce adult smoking from 21% now to under 10% by 2020. The strategy can be found here on the Department of Health website. See our press release here. See the Department of Health's press release here.

Tribute to the late David Taylor MP

29 December 2009 Responding to news of the unexpected death of Leicestershire MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, David Taylor, health campaigners were quick to pay tribute. Taylor had been a long time champion of measures to reduce the harm caused by smoking and had been a leader in the parliamentary campaign that made public places in England smokefree. More recently he helped secure the successful passage of the 2009 Health Bill which will put an end to cigarette vending machines and put tobacco products out of sight in shops. Taylor was also one of Westminster's leading advocates of plain packaging for tobacco products. Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of the Health Charity ASH said: "David was a much loved and respected colleague and advocate for public health, fearless in his pursuit of the things he believed in. Our thoughts are with his family and I hope it can be some consolation for them to know that David was admired as a man of great honour and a wise and willing adviser to those who sought his help. It is all the more saddening to know that David was standing down at the next election, looking forward to a less hectic life."

MPs vote to put tobacco out of sight and out of reach

12th October 2009 MPs made the most significant step forward in public health since smokefree legislation when they voted to ban sales of tobacco from vending machines and the display of tobacco in shops on Monday 12th October. See ASH's press release here See the British Heart Foundation's press release here See Cancer Research UK's press release here

Lambert & Butler bosses lobby Health Bill Committee

18th June 2009 Health charities and the tobacco industry have submitted evidence to the committee considering the Health Bill, week beginning 22nd June. Although the rules require that they "should generally include only material specifically prepared for the Committee", industry submissions appear to be substantially recycled from previous briefings. Read what the industry has been telling MPs.         The MPs on the Committee are: Gillian Merron Government Minister, Lincoln Mike O'Brien Government Minister, North Warwickshire Mary Creagh Labour, Wakefield Angela C. Smith Labour, Sheffield, Hillsborough Andy Slaughter Labour, Ealing and Acton Dr Desmond Turner Labour, Brighton Kemptown Patrick Hall Labour, Bedford Dr Doug Naysmith Labour, Bristol NW Jim Cunningham Labour, Coventry South Mike Penning Conservative, Hemel Hempstead Robert Wilson Conservative Whip, Reading East John Horam Conservative, Orpington Stephen O'Brien Conservative, Eddisbury Andrew Turner Conservative, IoW Sandra Gidley Lib Dem, Romsey Dr John Pugh Lib Dem, Southport

Cigarette vending machines are out of order

14th May 2009 The British Heart Foundation, as part of the Smokefree Action Coalition, has been campaigning to ensure children cannot buy cigarettes from vending machines. We were pleased that, following our lobbying, earlier opposition to restrictions on access to cigarette vending machines in the current health bill have disappeared. Despite the narrow defeat of an amendment to ban cigarette vending machines in the Lords last week, we were delighted that so many peers from across the political spectrum spoke out against them. Many have clearly been persuaded that action on cigarette vending machines is crucial to ensure they are put out of children's reach for good. We believe that when the bill moves to the Commons in June, MPs must press the Government to commit to the strongest possible regulations on vending machines, to make it impossible for children to access cigarettes this way. We welcome your support to ensure that when the Health Bill becomes an act of Parliament, cigarette vending machines will be put out of reach of children for good

Lords vote 2 to 1 to put tobacco out of sight of children

7th May 2009 Action on Smoking & Health today praised the House of Lords for putting children's health first following a vote to put tobacco out of sight in shops across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The move, which has been supported by over 100 health and welfare organisations, will close one of the remaining loopholes in the ban on tobacco advertising and will protect children from tobacco industry marketing. More

Observer ad urges support for legislation to ban tobacco displays and vending machine sales

26th April 2009 One hundred national, regional and local organisations and medical and scientific experts have signed a full-page advertisement appearing in The Observer newspaper urging members of the House of Lords to vote to end tobacco displays in shops and ban sales of tobacco from vending machines. The Report Stage of the Health Bill starts on 28th April and the organisations are urging the Lords to vote to put tobacco out of sight in order to protect children from the eye-catching tobacco displays that are often sited next to the sweet counters in corner shops. For more information contact Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) on 020 7739 5902.

Canadians congratulate UK on Point of Sale Ban

The Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction (SCTR) has congratulated the UK Government on its commitment to "measures that will protect children, youth and all citizens from the devastation caused by tobacco addiction". Saskatchewa, Canada, was the second jurisdiction in the world (after Iceland) to implement a ban on tobacco point of sale displays. A spokesman said he had "not heard of any negative outcomes such as businesses closing or staff being let go". Read the SCTR's letter on their point of sale ban success story

Top UK academics tell peers: tobacco displays lead children to smoke

23rd March 2009 Directors of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies have written to 800 members of the House of Lords telling them that the evidence indicates that children are influenced by point of sale displays of tobacco, in terms of their susceptibility to smoking, experimentation and uptake. During the Lords "Committee Stage" debate of the Health Bill several peers said they doubted there was enough evidence to justify legislation but Professors McNeil and Britton are among the leading authorities who have written to put them straight. Click here to read their letter The letter arrives just days after Channel 4's "Factcheck" rated as very strong, the evidence linking displays to youth smoking and legal display bans to reductions in youth smoking. (See story below) The Smokefree Action Coalition are urging the public to write to MPs and peers to make the facts clear.

Top UK academics tell peers: tobacco displays lead children to smoke

23rd March 2009 Directors of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies have written to 800 members of the House of Lords telling them that the evidence indicates that children are influenced by point of sale displays of tobacco, in terms of their susceptibility to smoking, experimentation and uptake. During the Lords "Committee Stage" debate of the Health Bill several peers said they doubted there was enough evidence to justify legislation but Professors McNeil and Britton are among the leading authorities who have written to put them straight. Click here to read their letter The letter arrives just days after Channel 4's "Factcheck" rated as very strong, the evidence linking displays to youth smoking and legal display bans to reductions in youth smoking. (See story below) The Smokefree Action Coalition are urging the public to write to MPs and peers to make the facts clear.

Channel 4 FactCheck: tobacco ban evidence?

Channel 4's FactCheck has assessed the government's claim that banning cigarette displays in shops will stop young people smoking and rated it: 1 How ratings work Every time a FactCheck article is published we'll give it a rating from zero to five. The lower end of the scale indicates that the claim in question largerly checks out, while the upper end of the scale suggests misrepresentation, exaggeration, a massaging of statistics and/or language. The claim "What other countries have found when they've banned point of sale [tobacco] displays is they reduced the number of young people taking up smoking, and that's the primary concern we have here." Alan Johnson, health secretary, Today, Radio 4, 9 December 2008 The background The government announced plans yesterday to ban the display of tobacco products in shops and supermarkets by 2013 - so no more colourful rows of cigarette packets lined up behind the newsagents' counter. Since tobacco advertising was banned in 2002, these point-of-sale displays are the most prominent place in which cigarettes are visible to potential customers. More

Big tobacco hides behind shopfront: MSP condemns tobacco lobby tactics

11th January 2009, SNP News SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson condemned the lobbying actions of tobacco manufacturers after it emerged a campaign by shopkeepers against proposals to stop the display of cigarettes in store is being bank rolled by the cigarette companies. MSPs have been receiving letters from "Responsible Retailers" urging them to support the "Save our Shop" campaign claiming that removing cigarettes from display will lead to the closure of small independent shops. More

MPs fall foul of 'dirty' tricks by tobacco giants

14th December 2008, The Observer Britain's tobacco giants have been accused of 'dirty' tactics after it emerged they created a supposedly 'independent' campaign group for small retailers to lobby against government restrictions on the promotion of cigarettes in shops. The Save Our Shop campaign claimed proposals to remove large displays of cigarettes in stores would result in costly refits and see many small retailers go out of business... more

Government publishes its response to the future of tobacco control consultation

9th December 2008 Read the Government's response to the consultation Find out more about the Smokefree Action Coalition's priorities for a comprehensive strategy We expect a new Bill to be introduced early in the New Year to end point of sale display and give powers to end the sale of cigarettes from vending machines. A comprehensive strategy is expected to follow later in the year.

EDM 189: Point of Sale display of tobacco products

9th December 2008 EDM 189: Point of Sale display of tobacco products. Has your MP signed yet? If not ask them why

Secretary of State gives evidence on health inequalities

19th November 2008 Today Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson gave evidence to the Health Select Committee on health inequalities. He frequently mentioned smoking and tobacco to illustrate his points and correctly identified smoking as the major cause of health inequalities. A number of specific areas in relation to tobacco control were picked up on... more

SAC states case for a comprehensive tobacco control strategy

12th October 2008 The need for a comprehensive tobacco control strategy - SAC document

Coalition members publish responses to the consultation

10th September 2008 Read the Smokefree Action Coalition members' responses to the government consultation

What happens now the consultation is closed?

8th September 2008 The Department of Health’s Consultation on the future of tobacco control closed on Monday September 8th. What happens now? More

Government consultation on the future of tobacco control

31st May 2008 The Smokefree Action Coalition welcomes the Government’s consultation on the future of tobacco control and the commitment to a new national tobacco control strategy. More .

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