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** 7 February 2023
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** UK
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** Number of people diagnosed with cancer in UK ‘will rise by a third by 2040’ (#1)
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** Opinion: The ‘major conditions strategy’: will ministers fail to give cancer the due care and attention it requires? (#2)
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** Wales: Smokers choose between heating or eating due to cigarette costs (#3)
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** International
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** Majority of Americans support blocking sales of all tobacco products, CDC study says (#4)
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** UK
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** Number of people diagnosed with cancer in UK ‘will rise by a third by 2040’

The number of people in the UK diagnosed with cancer will rise by a third by 2040, taking the number of new cases every year to more than half a million for the first time, experts predict.

Analysis by Cancer Research UK finds that, on current trends, cancer cases will rise from the 384,000 cases diagnosed every year now to 506,000 in the next 17 years.

While most of the rise is due to an ageing population – as older people are more likely to get cancer – the charity also said obesity and smoking will make a major contribution. Around four in 10 cancer cases are preventable – and these two factors are the biggest preventable causes.

If recent trends continue, smoking could cause around a million cancer cases in the UK up to 2040, Cancer Research UK said, while more people are expected to be obese than a healthy weight.

Its figures show there will be 208,000 overall cancer deaths in the UK each year in the next 17 years – an increase of almost a quarter. In total, there could be 8.4 million new cases of cancer and 3.5 million cancer deaths in the UK between 2023 and 2040.

Cancer Research UK said the figures should act as a warning to the government, because more people will need care. It said cancer survival in the UK lags behind that of comparable countries and the NHS is not on track to achieve its aim of diagnosing three-quarters of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.

The government’s new “major conditions strategy” is “unlikely to provide the road map required to achieve this goal”, the charity said.

Cancer Research UK said action was needed to prevent more cancers, to diagnose and treat cancers faster, invest in research and address the NHS’s “chronic” staff and equipment shortages.

It said the UK was not on track to meet its target of creating a Smoke-free England by 2030, while ministers had “pushed back” junk-food marketing restrictions.

Chief clinician Professor Charles Swanton said: “Right now, the NHS is just about treading water.

“By the end of the next decade, if left unaided, the NHS risks being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new cancer diagnoses.

Source: The Independent, 3 February 2023
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** Opinion: The ‘major conditions strategy’: will ministers fail to give cancer the due care and attention it requires?

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, writes on the CRUK website that the UK lags behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer outcomes.

Targets on diagnosing and the timely treatment of cancer have been missed since 2015 with 12.4% of patients waiting more than 104 days after an urgent referral to begin treatment- decreasing their chance of a successful outcome.

The government’s new 5 year major condition strategy, which replaces a specific 10 year plan on cancer, combines the approach to cancer together with conditions such as diabetes, dementia and mental health. Mitchell fears that combining all of these serious conditions into one shorter term plan risks failing to give cancer the attention it requires.

Mitchell writes that beating cancer requires a long term approach, with clear metrics for progress and success, clear accountability on who is responsible for delivery, it will require more staff allowing the NHS to diagnose and treat cancer earlier and it will need to promote prevention- specifically on problems such as smoking and obesity.

Source: Cancer Research UK, 6 February 2023
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** Wales: Smokers choose between heating or eating due to cigarette costs

SMOKERS in west Wales are now choosing between smoking, heating or eating says charity ASH Wales.

The charity, along with local NHS services, raised concerns about smokers, after a rise in smokers seeking support.

ASH found the average packet of cigarettes costs £12, with smokers spending on average £2,451 a year on the habit – described as an addiction by the charity – the same cost of an average energy bill in the UK.

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s stop smoking service said it has seen a rise in those wanting to quit to save on money.

Fiona Edwards, NHS smoking cessation practitioner in Carmarthen, said: “The cost of smoking is substantial, and in recent months we have seen many smokers use our service as they are faced with choosing between smoking, heating or eating.”

Source: The South Wales Guardian, 5 January 2023
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** International
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** Majority of Americans support blocking sales of all tobacco products, CDC study says

A majority of adults in the United States support policies that prohibit the sale of all tobacco products according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC survey, published Thursday in the peer-reviewed electronic journal, Preventing Chronic Disease, assessed support for commercial tobacco retail policies among 6,455 U.S. adults. Overall, about 57% of adults supported a policy prohibiting the sale of all tobacco products and about 62% supported a policy prohibiting the sale of menthol cigarettes.

"A majority of adults supported tobacco retail policies aimed at preventing initiation, promoting quitting, and reducing tobacco-related disparities," the study said. "These findings can help inform federal, state, and local efforts to prohibit the sale of tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes."

While cigarette smoking in the U.S. has declined since 2005, the CDC said about 30.8 million adults currently smoke cigarettes and more than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the U.S., according to the CDC. More than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths, are caused by cigarette smoking.

Source: Medical Xpress, 6 February 2023

See also: Preventing Chronic Disease- Support for Policies to Prohibit the Sale of Menthol Cigarettes and All Tobacco Products Among Adults, 2021 ([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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