Read articles from United Kingdom

March 28, 2024 by planetofthevapes.co.uk

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) says it welcomes the research looking the health impact of vaping so that the relative risks of vaping and smoking can be better understood. The trade body says that although one leading academic described the study data as ‘crude’, implying a link to changes in cheek cells which could potentially cause cancer, the study authors said their findings did not prove that e-cigarettes caused cancer.

March 27, 2024 by uea.ac.uk

Giving out free e-cigarette starter packs in hospital emergency departments to people who smoke helps more people quit – according to research from the University of East Anglia. The trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), offered advice, an e-cigarette starter pack and referral to stop smoking services to people attending A&E for any reason, to help them to stop smoking. Six months later, almost one in four people given the starter packs said they had quit smoking. And those who received the packs but didn’t quit altogether, were more likely to have reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked.

March 27, 2024 by bbc.com

Handing out free vapes to smokers in A&E departments could "save thousands of lives", a new study has found. Academics from the University of East Anglia (UEA), based in Norwich, conducted a trial in six UK emergency departments, between January and August 2022. The trial saw hundreds of daily smokers given e-cigarette starter kits and offered advice, with smoking habits assessed six months later. The university said the approach "could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year".

March 26, 2024 by bbc.com

Banning disposable vapes will not be "effective", the boss of the UK's largest tobacco firm has told the BBC. Tadeu Marroco, chief executive of British American Tobacco (BAT), also said raising the smoking age would have "non-intended consequences". The government plans to outlaw disposable vapes next April as part of the "biggest public health measure in decades". BAT is the UK's third-largest vape seller. Sales of disposable vapes - which give a few hundred puffs of nicotine-containing liquid before being thrown away - have skyrocketed in recent years in Britain. It is estimated hundreds of millions are now sold every year, many of them illegal.

March 22, 2024 by thetimes.co.uk

People who vape suffer similar changes to their DNA as smokers who develop cancer, researchers have revealed. Scientists at University College London analysed samples of cheek cells from vape users and compared these with those from cigarette smokers. Both groups had similar changes to the DNA of cells in their mouth. These changes were, in turn, linked to the future development of lung cancer in smokers.

March 20, 2024 by clivebates.com

The government set a “smoke-free” goal to reduce smoking to below 5% by 2030. This is a good idea. It would always be a challenge and require an acceleration of progress for the remainder of the decade. But it would inevitably rely heavily on smokers switching to safer alternatives to smoking, such as vaping, nicotine pouches and smoke-free tobacco products. Instead of going all-in on promoting switching, the government has instead introduced a pointless but controversial headline measure on smoking and a range of policies that will suppress the uptake of vaping by smokers.

March 20, 2024 by telegraph.co.uk

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “stop our kids getting hooked on nicotine” – as a study has found for the first time that vaping damages mouth cells in the same way as cigarettes. Changes in the make-up of the cells in the cheek lining, which have been linked to cancer, are the same for those using vapes as cigarettes, scientists have discovered. The revelation comes as the Prime Minister is set to introduce a landmark ban on smoking and new restrictions on vapes to Parliament on Wednesday.

March 20, 2024 by www.gov.uk

Millions of smokers want to quit, but cannot due to an addiction to nicotine that started at a young age. It is an addiction they know could well kill them, but is now trapping them. Over 80% of smokers start before the age of 20, many as children, after persistent marketing. Starting smoking feels easy- stopping it later once nicotine has got its grip is really hard with the great majority of people who smoke wishing they had never started. For too many smoking becomes a lifelong, life limiting, deeply regretted addiction. To be pro individual choice should mean being against deliberate addiction of children, young people and young adults to something that will harm them, potentially fatally.

March 19, 2024 by express.co.uk

The Express understands that Downing Street is looking to bring its flagship anti-smoking legislation before Parliament next week, in a rush to disprove allegations that the Government isn’t working hard enough. Mr Sunak hopes to pass the legislation, which will stop anyone born after 2008 from ever legally being allowed to buy tobacco, as a sign he is enacting change before the general election. However amid swirling concerns about his leadership, the crunch vote will only serve to underline the Tory party’s deep-rooted splits over policy and ideology

March 15, 2024 by bmj.com

Menthol cigarettes have been banned in Great Britain (GB) since May 2020. Still, menthol accessories and unlabelled cigarettes perceived as mentholated are available, and people can buy menthol cigarettes overseas or illicitly. This study assessed: trends in smoking menthol cigarettes among all adults and 18–24-year-olds in GB between October 2020 and March 2023; trends in and differences between England, Scotland and Wales during the same period and purchase sources among people smoking menthol versus non-flavoured cigarettes.