2 December 2022

UK

Fresh is urging people to quit smoking this Christmas to save money and protect their health

Opinion: Sickness in the workforce is keeping the UK economy on the critical list

International

Smoking Cessation and Nicotine De-Addiction Products Global Market to Grow by 15% Annually Through 2030

Links of the week

Let's talk e-cigarettes podcast: discussing the Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation update

Blog: Celebrating 175 years of Directors of Public Health

UK

Fresh is urging people to quit smoking this Christmas to save money and protect their health

Charity Fresh’s festive message is that “quitting smoking for the sake of your family is the best gift you could give them for Christmas and it’s completely free”.

Christmas is an expensive time when most people are counting the cost, so giving up smoking can help ease some of those financial stresses, says the charity. If you smoke 10 a day, you could be spending nearly £40 a week and around £1,600 a year. Quitting therefore could help offset household bills for fuel, food or heating. 

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: “Quitting smoking is one of the biggest gifts you can give to your loved ones – by improving your health and improving the chances of being around for many more Christmases in the future [...] There are so many benefits to quitting smoking. Within weeks you feel fitter and can breathe easier, and as the weeks and months go by you reduce the risks of a life-changing illness.”

For help to quit ask in a pharmacy, with your GP or visit www.freshquit.co.uk/ways-to-quit for details of your local stop smoking service and other ways to quit.

Source: Northumberland Gazette, 2 December 2022

Read here

Opinion: Sickness in the workforce is keeping the UK economy on the critical list

James Moore, chief business commentator and Voices columnist, writes in the Independent on the recent British Medical Association (BMA) report highlighting the nation’s health, and the government imperative to address health to meaningfully address the UK economy.

The number of people described as “economically inactive” has grown to more than one in five working age adults according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A growing cohort of working age adults have left the labour force as a result of long-term sickness, and the amount of time spent in ill health has increased. 

“The UK has a higher amount of preventable illness than comparable European countries, and the number of working-age people reporting multiple health conditions has skyrocketed in recent years,” the BMA report reads, continuing that “What the government is failing to grasp is [...] our economy is dependent on a healthy population, and without action to improve health, the economy will remain sick.”

Moore states that public services people depend on have meanwhile been eroded while policies to improve public health have been derided as examples of the “nanny state”, referencing alcohol and tobacco policy measures.

Moore concludes that: “Improving the nation’s health and addressing issues of economic insecurity would serve as an investment in the nation’s economic health [...] Jeremy Hunt should remember that borrowing to invest is good borrowing. And it would pay for itself in terms of economic returns.”

Source: Independent, 1 December 2022

See also: BMA report - The country is getting sicker 

Read here

International

Smoking Cessation and Nicotine De-Addiction Products Global Market to Grow by 15% Annually Through 2030

The global market for smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2030 as the number of those attempting to give up smoking continues to grow.

Nicotine replacement therapies (also known as NRTs) were the first products for smoking cessation treatment but it is anticipated that the growing demand for electronic cigarettes will drive most growth in the market for smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products. 

Source: Global Newswire, 1 December 2022

Read here

Links of the week

Let's talk e-cigarettes podcast: discussing the Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation update

In this podcast episode Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Dr Nicola Lindson discuss the emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and summarise the findings of the newly published update to the Cochrane review of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, which has found the strongest evidence yet that e-cigarettes help people to quit smoking better than traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and chewing gums. 

See also: latest update to Cochrane review - Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation

Listen here

Blog: Celebrating 175 years of Directors of Public Health

Councillor David Fothergill writes in the Local Government Association, celebrating the achievements of Directors of Public Health and remarking on the 175 year history of the profession.
 
Read the blog and follow through to the series of interviews commissioned by the LGA exploring the varied and invaluable role of directors of public health here

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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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