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** 3 January 2024
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** UK
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** Vapers to be hit with new tax on e-cigarettes that will see prices rise massively (#1)
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** Smokers urged to quit habit to help prevent children taking it up (#2)
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** Opinion: Labour should tax the tobacco industry – and spend the proceeds on public health (#3)
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** Smokers 'twice as likely to quit' with cytisine pills set to be available in UK, study finds (#4)
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** Opinion: Footsie turns 40: FTSE 100’s rise, rise and stagnation over four decades (#5)
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** UK
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** Vapers to be hit with new tax on e-cigarettes that will see prices rise massively

Vapers will be hit by a new tax despite warnings it will punish people who have switched to e-cigarettes after quitting smoking.

The plans for the levy, which will likely increase the cost of vaping liquid by at least a quarter, will be unveiled in the Budget in March. The Sunday Mirror understands ministers are keen to push ahead with the tax to make it harder for children to get their hands on e-cigarettes.

A public consultation on ways to tackle youth vaping, such as restricting flavours and packaging over concerns they are aimed at children, closed in December. Ideas being considered include a total ban on disposable vapes that kids can afford to buy with their pocket money.

A government source said it was now almost inevitable that a tax on vaping will be introduced as part of the Spring Budget, which will be announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on March 6.

The Government has said it wants to encourage people who smoke cigarettes to switch to vaping, whilst discouraging non-smokers - particularly children - from starting vaping. Smoking is three times more expensive than vaping currently. It is estimated that the average smoker in England could save around £670 per year from switching to vaping.

Research in the U.S. has warned there is a risk that raising the cost of vapes too much has the risk of increasing youth smoking. Ministers have said that if they introduce a new tax on vaping it will still be cheaper than cigarettes as it will ensure “there is a significant differential between duty on vapes and tobacco products”.

Source: The Mirror, 30 December 2023
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** Smokers urged to quit habit to help prevent children taking it up

Former England and Premier League footballer David James has admitted he smoked for 15 years as part of a new NHS drive also featuring doctors and ex-smokers.

James, who won 53 international caps in a career spanning 572 Premier League appearances, said: "I smoked for about 15 years, and at the time it was normal.

"My mum smoked, my friends smoked, it was around me. It didn't take long for me to be hooked.

"Looking back, it had a huge impact on my health and performance at the time, I wish I never started.

"My health, my children and my fans were huge motivators for me to quit - I didn't want younger people to see me smoking and think it was OK," he told the NHS Smokefree campaign.

Nick Hopkinson, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said their research suggests children between the ages of 14 and 17 are three times more likely to take up smoking if people around them smoke.

Most people who smoke, he said, begin in their teens and "taking up smoking at a young age is linked to a greater risk of health problems later in life".

Public health minister Andrea Leadsom said "no other consumer product kills up to two-thirds of its users".

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: "Stopping smoking will not only improve their health and put money in their pocket, but also significantly increase the chances their children will grow up to be part of the smoke-free generation."

Source: Sky News, 28 December 2023
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** Opinion: Labour should tax the tobacco industry – and spend the proceeds on public health

Writing for Labour List, Aveek Bhattacharya, interim director of the Social Market Foundation, discusses the benefits of a levy on the tobacco industry and why a Labour Government should be considering it.

Bhattacharya writes that the tobacco industry are a prime source of revenue, pointing to analysis from Dr JR Branston which found that the four biggest tobacco firms in the UK made around £900m a year. The profitability of these firms is also far above national average, market leader Imperial Tobacco had a profit margin of about 70% compared to 10% average for UK manufacturing. Bhattacharya adds that in other markets, the Government and economists would argue for increasing competition but given the harms of tobacco, it is desirable for it to remain expensive to discourage smoking.

The author then says that capping profitability of these companies to 10% with a health promotion levy capturing anything above this could raise £700 million. Bhattacharya states that this is enough to reverse the cuts to public health grants between 2016 and 2023.

Bhattacharya concludes by saying that the case for spending on health promotion is obvious given that health measures such as life expectancy are stagnating, NHS prevention services facing cuts and Labour having committed to delivering a Smokefree Britain.

Source: Labour List, 30 December 2023.

See also: All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health – Manifesto for a Smokefree Future ([link removed])
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** Smokers 'twice as likely to quit' with cytisine pills set to be available in UK, study finds

Smokers hoping to kick the habit in 2024 are more than twice as likely to succeed if they take a pill that dampens nicotine cravings, according to a new study.

Following a study in Argentina, researchers have reported that cytisine pills - a non-nicotine aid - were more than twice as effective as a placebo at helping people quit smoking.

It is unavailable in a number of countries, including the US, but recently gained regulatory approval in the UK and will be available via prescription from 22 January.

The study, published in journal Addiction, pooled the results of eight randomised controlled trials, which compared the success rates of smokers who tried to quit while taking cytisine or a placebo.

Out of the nearly 6,000 patients, the results showed that cytisine pills were more than twice as effective as the placebo at helping people quit smoking.

"Our study adds to the evidence that cytisine is an effective and inexpensive stop-smoking aid," said lead author Dr Omar De Santi.

"Worldwide, smoking is considered the main cause of preventable death. Cytisine has the potential to be one of the big answers to that problem."

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: "Cytisine is an effective quitting aid for smokers and it's good news that it will be available on prescription from the end of January.

"However, if stopping smoking is your New Year's resolution, you don't need to wait for cytisine to be available.

"Your chances of successful quitting are just as good if you use vapes containing nicotine, and they can be bought over the counter now."

Source: Sky News, 1 January 2024

See also: Addiction - Evaluation of the effectiveness of cytisine for the treatment of smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis ([link removed])
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** Opinion: Footsie turns 40: FTSE 100’s rise, rise and stagnation over four decades

Writing for the Guardian, Nils Pratley, the Guardian’s financial editor, reflects on the FTSE 100 40 years after it’s creation. It includes analysis of the companies that have been present since it’s inception, one of which is British American Tobacco.

Pratley states that British American Tobacco (BAT) has been a top performer, returning on average 16.4% a year. Between 2000 and 2017, BAT’s share price rose ten-fold.

Source: The Guardian, 2 January 2024

Editorial note: The tobacco industry has profit margins that far exceed national average for manufacturing. They make this profit by selling products which will kill two thirds of long-term users. The APPG on Smoking and Health has been calling for a levy to be placed on the tobacco industry. You can read more about this in the APPG’s Manifesto for a Smokefree Future ([link removed]) .
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

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