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** 17 May 2024
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** UK
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** One hour of social media a day doubles a child’s chance of smoking or vaping (#1)
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** Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy CEO of ASH on The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 (#2)
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** Morrisons blasted by customers for display selling £3 vapes in a bargain bin (#3)
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** NHS Humber & North Yorks Cancer Group Hails Tobacco & Vapes Bill (#4)
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** Link of the week
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** ASH annual young people and adult survey (#5)
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** South Yorkshire launches Smokefree Starts Mental Health Campaign (#6)
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** Tobacco smoking addiction and nicotine dependence - The Sage Handbook of Addiction Psychology (#7)
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** UK
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** One hour of social media a day doubles a child’s chance of smoking or vaping

Just an hour of social media a day doubles a young person’s chance of smoking or vaping, a BMJ study has found.

Researchers found that the longer children and young people were exposed to social media, the greater the chance of them smoking or vaping.

Those who used platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for less than an hour a day were 95 per cent more likely to smoke than those who did not use social media at all.

Similarly, children and young people who used social media sites for between one and three hours a day were 92 per cent more likely to vape than those who did not use it.

More than 10,800 people in the UK aged between 10 and 25 had their social media use and smoking or vaping habits analysed. In total, 8.6 per cent of the participants smoked cigarettes, 2.5 per cent used vapes, and 1 per cent used both.

The researchers found that children and young people who spent seven hours or more on social media on a weekday were three times more likely to vape, and three-and-a-half times more likely to smoke compared with non-users.

Dr Nick Hopkinson, professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College and first author of the paper, suggested that advertisements, paid influencers presenting vapes and cigarettes as fashionable, and the addictive nature of social media could all be behind the trends.

“First, and most straightforwardly, there is evidence that the corporations behind cigarette smoking and vaping make use of social media to advertise and promote their products,” his paper said.

“This includes direct advertising which is algorithmically targeted and the use of paid social media influencers who present smoking and vaping as a fashionable and desirable activity.”

The researchers concluded that “companies that own social media platforms have substantial power to modify exposure to material that promotes smoking and vaping if they choose to or are compelled to”.

“In general, we think that algorithms should not be promoting products to individuals that they cannot legally buy,” they said. “Legislation and enforcement around this and other corporate determinants of health concerns should be considered a core part of online safety and child protection.”

Source: The Telegraph 16 May 2024

See also: Hopkinson NS, Vrinten C, Parnham JC, et al, Association of time spent on social media with youth cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the UK: a national longitudinal study ([link removed]) , Thorax. May 2024
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** Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy CEO of ASH on The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4

On The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy CEO of ASH, spoke to Nick Robinson about the new Imperial College London study which found that the longer young people spent on social media, the more likely they were to smoke or vape.

When asked about this association, Cheeseman stated that the cause was most likely due to the higher level of exposure to imagery of smoking and vaping online. Cheeseman qualified this, saying that the ASH survey found that 29% of young people said they had vaping products promoted to them online, despite it being prohibited, with “Tik Tok being the biggest culprit”.

Cheeseman said the Tobacco and Vapes bill was a “really important measure for protecting young people” and “getting that legislation through parliament is really important” as it would significantly restrict the marketing of vaping products. However, Cheeseman said that online platforms, which don’t monitor the amount of vaping and smoking content being targeted at younger consumers, could undermine the effect of the Tobacco and Vapes bill.

To listen to the full interview, skip to 49:00.

See also: Hopkinson NS, Vrinten C, Parnham JC, et al, Association of time spent on social media with youth cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the UK: a national longitudinal study ([link removed]) , Thorax. May 2024

ASH annual young people and adult survey ([link removed])
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Read Here ([link removed])


** Morrisons blasted by customers for display selling £3 vapes in a bargain bin

Morrisons was blasted yesterday for selling addictive vapes in a bargain bin. The devices were advertised with the branding, “When it’s gone it’s gone” — dicing with strict nicotine sale laws.

Shopper Sam Bryan couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted the display in his local supermarket. He told bosses who immediately acknowledged the display full of £3 bargain vapes was “inappropriate”.

The store in Ashford, Kent, said: “This goes against our policies and values, and we are taking this matter seriously.

“We will take immediate action.

"I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention and for your concern about the safety and wellbeing of our customers, particularly children.”

But despite their commitment to take action, nothing had changed when Sam returned to the store later. The vapes were still on offer in the discount container near the exit.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said, “Promoting vapes like this is not currently illegal but it is certainly immoral and Morrisons should be ashamed of itself.

"The Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently going through parliament is vitally needed to ensure that in future promotion like this will be totally forbidden.”

Morrisons said yesterday: “There was no reduction in price to the vape products and they have since been removed.”

Source: The Sun, 17 May 2024
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** NHS Humber & North Yorks Cancer Group Hails Tobacco & Vapes Bill

NHS Humber & North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance stands in support of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill as it clears committee stage and moves towards its third reading.

They say the bill, which passed its second reading on 16 April 2024, is a crucial step towards reducing cancer rates for future generations. As advocates for public health and cancer prevention, the Cancer Alliance commends the Government's commitment to tackling the root causes of cancer, particularly the devastating impact of smoking.

Stephen Eames, Chief Executive of NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said:

“The case for action on smoking is clear. We must do more to prevent ill health in the first place, not just treat it afterwards. This is why our partnership in Humber and North Yorkshire has set up a ground-breaking Centre of Excellence in Tobacco Control. Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death in our region, costing our area £464.9 million a year with £57.2 million in health care costs alone.

“Cancer is one of the ICB’s top four priorities and affects a significant proportion of our population. As a system, we are working together continuously to improve diagnosis, treatment and awareness. Public health legislation, such as the Tobacco and Vapes bill, will have a profound effect on our work in this area in the years to follow”.

The group add that the Tobacco and Nicotine Bill represents a watershed moment in the collective fight against cancer. By implementing stricter regulations on tobacco, this legislation will save lives and spare many families from the anguish of losing loved ones to this preventable disease.

Scott Crosby, Associate Director of the Centre of Excellence for Tobacco Control at NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership said:

“The third reading marks another crucial step in consigning smoking to history. As the Tobacco and Vapes Bill progresses to the third stage and then the House of Lords, let us expedite its passage before the general election. The overwhelming public support demands nothing less."

Source: This is the Coast, 16 May 2024
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** Link of the week
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** ASH annual young people and adult survey

The latest findings ([link removed]) from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH’s) annual surveys of young people and adults find that 11% of British adults vape, up from 9% in 2023. However, rates of vaping among 11–17-year-olds have not increased, with 7.6% of young people vaping occasionally or regularly, and 17% of young people having ever vaped, similar to the levels reported in 2023.

Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said:

“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes the powers needed to bring youth vaping down and must be enacted swiftly. However, getting adults to quit smoking is important for children’s health too. The evidence has grown that vaping is less harmful than smoking, but public understanding has gone in the other direction.

“It is to be hoped that 2024 can be a turning point and youth vaping will fall, alongside an improvement in public understanding about the role vaping can play in helping the UK’s 6 million smokers stop.”
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** South Yorkshire launches Smokefree Starts Mental Health Campaign

The ‘Smokefree Starts’ campaign has been launched in South Yorkshire to support people to quit smoking to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

The campaign aims to address the common myths and misconceptions around smoking and mental health, raise awareness of the effects of smoking on mental health and increase the number of people seeking support.

The resources include a professional guide covering facts and figures relating to smoking and mental health and advice for delivering Very Brief Advice (VBA) on smoking cessation specifically to those who have mental health concerns.

This is accompanied by public facing posters and leaflets available to download in nine languages which aim to raise awareness amongst people with mental health conditions about the impact that smoking and quitting have on mental wellbeing.

These paper resources are being launched alongside a TV ad campaign that will run on ITVX on demand and radio ad that will run on Hits FM and digital radio.

Link to TV ad: [link removed]
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** Tobacco smoking addiction and nicotine dependence - The Sage Handbook of Addiction Psychology

Sharon Cox, Principal Research Fellow Behavioural Science and Health at University College London, has shared her chapter titled “Tobacco smoking addiction and nicotine dependence” in The Sage Handbook of Addiction Psychology.

In this chapter Cox provides an overview of how tobacco smoking came to be recognised as addictive, how nicotine was identified as the primary reinforcer for tobacco addiction, and why it is so difficult to stop smoking.
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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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