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** 17 January 2023
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** UK
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** Keir Starmer: the NHS is not an out-of-bounds shrine. It needs unsentimental reform (#1)
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** The hidden cupboard built into wall that uncovered a shop's secret (#2)
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** International
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** Philip Morris sells stake in Covid vaccine maker Medicago (#3)
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** UK
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** Keir Starmer: the NHS is not an out-of-bounds shrine. It needs unsentimental reform
Writing in The Telegraph, Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, writes that “well-meaning reverence” gets in the way of the need for NHS reform.
Starmer says that the situation for the patients of the NHS is dangerous and blames this on years of Conservative neglect. He adds that the NHS should not be off-limits when discussing reform.
Elaborating on these reforms, Starmer says there is no solution that does not require an expansion of the workforce and says he has committed to doubling the number of graduating doctors and district nurses.
Starmer writes that we also need a “ruthless focus on ensuring patients are treated better and sooner” and states that currently there is too much focus on “treatment rather than prevention”. He references his time as Director of Public Prosecutions arguing that he saw too many people “let down by a lack of early intervention” and argues that there are “huge” opportunities to increase the amount of early intervention in the healthcare system.
Starmer concludes by saying that NHS reform is often not popular among Labour voters who see Labour’s role as defending public services, but he argues that his role is not merely to defend these services but to also improve standards.
Source: The Telegraph, 14 January 2023.
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** The hidden cupboard built into wall that uncovered a shop's secret
Thousands of illegal cigarettes were found stashed inside a secret in cupboard in a North Staffordshire shop. More than 5,000 cigarettes were discovered after busts at a shop in Newcastle.
North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard Trading Standards officials carried out two test purchases at the shop before returning to seize the items.
During the first visit on March 2, 2021, officers were able to buy two packets of 20 Richmond cigarettes for £5 per packet - significantly lower than the retail value of £12. A warrant was then executed at the store on March 25, 2021 and 102 packets of illicit cigarettes and 0.05 kilos of illicit hand-rolling tobacco were seized.
On June 25 2021, a second test purchase was carried out and officers were again able to buy 20 Richmond cigarettes for £5. Three days later an inspection was carried out where a hidden cupboard was uncovered thanks to the help of a sniffer dog.
Inside the concealed space, officers found 286 packets of counterfeit cigarettes and 22.6 kilos of illicit hand-rolling tobacco. Staffordshire Trading Standards say the goods had a total retail value of £6,772.20.
Source: The Stoke Sentinel, 17 January 2023
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** International
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** Philip Morris sells stake in Covid vaccine maker Medicago
The sale by the world’s largest tobacco company of a shareholding in a pharmaceutical firm that developed a Covid vaccine has been welcomed by the World Health Organisation.
Philip Morris International sold its stake in Medicago, a Canadian drugs company, to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, a Japanese company and the majority shareholder.
The disposal, which emerged recently, came after the WHO clashed last year with Medicago over Covifenz, its plant-based Covid vaccine developed in partnership with GSK, one of Britain’s biggest drugs companies.
Medicago wanted the vaccine listed for emergency use, a process that would accelerate access globally, but the WHO rejected the approach “because of the linkage with the tobacco industry” and its “strict policy on not engaging with companies that promote the tobacco industry”.
Philip Morris, one of the world’s largest tobacco groups and the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, owned about a fifth of Medicago and had helped to fund development of the vaccine.
WHO welcomed the sale, saying it was a “move in the right direction”. A spokeswoman said: “The tobacco industry is responsible for a myriad of diseases that kill over eight million people every year. They should not have a place at the table when discussing how to promote health and save lives.”
During the pandemic two years ago, the government stepped up calls for smokers to quit. Matt Hancock, the health secretary at the time, said it was clear that smoking made the impact of a coronavirus worse. Sir Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said: “If you are going to give up smoking , this is a very good moment to do it.”
Source: The Times, 17 January 2023
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