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** 6 March 2023
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** UK
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** Newcastle consultant warns smoking kills brains cells and could see people in 40s and 50s get dementia later in life (#1)
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** Doctors prescribing nicotine patches to children too young to smoke including 11-year-olds (#2)
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** Philip Morris CEO on quitting smoking and “detoxifying” the brand (#3)
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** Matt Hancock plotted to oust NHS England chief, WhatsApp leak shows (#4)
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** UK
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** Newcastle consultant warns smoking kills brains cells and could see people in 40s and 50s get dementia later in life
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**
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** In the run-up to No Smoking Day on 8 March, leading NHS consultant, Dr Charlotte Allan, has warned of the connection between smoking and dementia - and said it's especially vital that people in middle-age stop smoking now.

Dr Allan told ChronicleLive how it was concerning that only one in five people were aware of the link between cigarettes and dementia. Speaking as part of a renewed push from campaign group Fresh to encourage people to ditch smoking, Dr Allan highlighted how people in the 40s and 50s should stop now to reduce their dementia risk.

Dr Allan said this was a key thing people worried about developing dementia could do to reduce their risk. They can do this by staying active and keeping their brains busy - but kicking the smoking habit will also stop the scary impact the chemicals involved can cause.

Source: Chronicle Live, 6 March 2023
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** Doctors prescribing nicotine patches to children too young to smoke including 11-year-olds
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**
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** Last year more than 2,500 prescriptions were issued to teens who had gone to their doctor for help to beat their tobacco addiction. The figures from the NHS show that in the past five years a total of 10 nicotine prescriptions have been given out to children as young as 11.

NHS statistics show half the children who describe themselves as regular smokers have been using cigarettes for a year or longer. Separate NHS health data shows the number of youngsters who smoke cigarettes has fallen sharply in recent years.

The latest figures showed 2% of children considered themselves regular smokers, while 84% said they had never smoked.

Those who said they were regular smokers each consumed an average of 25 cigarettes a week, with most getting them from friends.

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive at Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Although smoking is falling among teenagers, more still needs to be done. Most smokers start in their teens so the Government’s vision of a smoke-free future depends on reducing the number who start. It’s right that we support addicted teens to quit but, equally, the Government must take further action to prevent them from starting.”

Source: Express, 4 March 2023

See also: NHS Digital - Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England April 2022 to June 2022 ([link removed])
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** Philip Morris CEO on quitting smoking and “detoxifying” the brand

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** Leisure industries correspondent for the Financial Times, Oliver Barnes, interviews Philip Morris International (PMI) CEO, Jacek Olczak, on the company’s “push away from cigarettes towards cleaner alternatives”.

Despite Olczak’s claiming “[One day], people will have to be reminded that this is a company that used to sell cigarettes”, Barnes highlights, “…the Marlboro maker remains firmly hooked on cigarettes, which are the leading cause of preventable death globally […] 64% of PMI’s revenues and 79% of its profits still came from cigarettes last year.”

Barnes also notes, that whilst PMI claims its smoke-free alternatives “will account for 50% of revenues by 2025”, the company is currently predicted to miss this target.

Whilst PMI “outlines plans to halt cigarette sales in developed countries, such as the UK, within the next decade”, “sales continue to boom in developing nations across the Middle East, Africa, south-east Asia and the Americas”, Barnes writes. He also highlights the fact that PMI spend most of the 1990s “fighting lawsuits from 46 US states alleging it covered up the dangers associated with smoking.”

Source: Financial Times, 5 March 2023
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**
See also: Tobacco Tactics - Philip Morris International ([link removed])
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** Matt Hancock plotted to oust NHS England chief, WhatsApp leak shows
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**
Matt Hancock plotted to try and oust Sir Simon Stevens, a longtime thorn in the government’s side, from his role as the head of the NHS in England, the former health secretary’s leaked messages reveal.

Hancock conspired with Dominic Cummings, the chief adviser to then prime minister Boris Johnson, to remove Stevens before the Covid-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020.

The latest batch of Hancock’s WhatsApp and text messages, disclosed in the Sunday Telegraph, show that he also sought to have Sir Jeremy Farrar – who will become chief scientist at the World Health Organization in April – removed as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). The scientist had criticised the government’s handling of Covid.

The messages do not reveal why the minister and No 10 adviser wanted Stevens out. However, the NHS chief – a former Labour councillor who advised Tony Blair on health in the early 2000s – had irritated a succession of Conservative ministers since taking over the post in 2014 with his outspoken criticisms on their handling of the health service, especially its funding.

The Covid lockdown intensified existing tensions. The messages also show that Hancock’s special adviser Allan Nixon warned his boss that “you look like you’re losing grip in front of No 10” when he became visibly angry at Stevens in a Downing Street meeting.

Source: The Guardian, 5 March 2023
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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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