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ASH Daily News

13-15 December 2003


HEADLINES

Smoking may kill your career
Draft Wanless report
More on the Lancet editorial
The Phoenix rises from (tobacco) ashes


FULL TEXT

Smoking may kill your career

Tobacco addicts may be letting their careers go up in smoke, according to new ICM poll of recruitment consultants.
A third of UK businesses would employ a non-smoker in preference to a smoker, and 76% of employers thought that smoking has a more negative impact on an employee's career than it did 20 years ago.
Job seekers themselves are also concerned; recruitment consultants notice that candidates are often reluctant to admit that they smoke.

The Guardian, 13/12/03


Draft Wanless report on state of Britons' health

Sustaining the National Health Service over the next 20 years will be made harder by the poor state of the British population, an interim report by Derek Wanless shows.
Life expectancy at birth is low in England compared with other countries, and mortality rates for some of the main chronic diseases such as cancer and heart conditions are high. Mr Wanless is leading an independent study looking at health trends and assessing their likely long-term effect on the NHS. The results of his work are crucial in determining the potential cost of the health service to the public purse.

There are large gaps in health between Britain's rich and poor and big differences between ethnic groups, which contribute to the country's dismal showing internationally.

The first Wanless report, published last year, said the NHS should continue to be funded from taxation and described three possible scenarios, depending on how health improved.

If the best case scenario is attained, the report suggests that the cost of the NHS could £154bn a year instead of the £184bn it will cost should the present poor levels of health and inefficiency in the health system remain.

But Mr Wanless' interim report shows how difficult it will be to achieve the best scenario. It compares the main causes of mortality in Australia, Denmark, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden - countries selected because they have similar population profiles, wealth and health systems to the UK.

It shows that deaths from respiratory diseases in Britain are at least 50 per cent higher among women and 30 per cent higher among men than in all other countries.

Britain tops the table for infant mortality, which is 70 per cent higher than in Finland. Cancer deaths among women are second only to Denmark and the UK is ranked 25 per cent higher than in France.

British women are in general less healthy than those in the other countries with lower life expectancy and higher numbers of premature deaths before 70. On heart disease Britain is better than Germany and Finland but worse than the other six countries for both sexes.

Professor Sian Griffiths, the president of the Faculty of Public Health, said: "We have got a long way to go on prevention to make a difference. The Government has been so focused on short-term measures to cut waiting lists that it has not invested in prevention. We need research to show what works and we need all clinicians to take prevention seriously. The Government has to act on the key issues, such as smoking and obesity."

Professor John Britton of the British Thoracic Society said Britain's high death rate from respiratory diseases, more than 50 per cent above the comparator countries, was "a real shock".

He added: "Cutting smoking radically is the big thing that would make a difference. In the longer term, clean atmospheres, a better infant and adult diet and reductions in obesity would have an impact."

The final Wanless report, due in the spring, is expected to recommend sweeping measures to reduce the burden of ill health caused by obesity, smoking and other factors in order to lessen demands on the NHS and achieve the best spending scenario over the next two decades.

John Reid, the Health Secretary, said: "The Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I asked Derek Wanless to look at health trends in this country precisely because we know there are glaring inequalities between areas.
"This report provides a valuable snapshot of the current picture and some useful comparisons with other countries. It will be a key tool in ensuring the extra investment we are putting into health improvement is well spent."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=472829
The Independent, 13/12/03


More on the Lancet editorial

The BMJ reports on The Lancet's lack of public support for its call to make tobacco illegal:

The Lancet called on Tony Blair's government last week to make tobacco an illegal substance, but it attracted little support to its cause ( 2003;362: 1865).

The unsigned editorial first discussed the question of banning smoking in public places. It pointed out that the government had been condemned, in a letter to the Times (25 Nov, p 19) by the leaders of the 18 royal colleges, for not introducing such a ban.

But the leader goes on to say: "Calling for a ban on smoking in public places is a start, but it is missing the point. Tim Lord, the Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, believes that price is the main determinant of how many smokers there are.

"We disagree. Availability and acceptability are more important. If tobacco were an illegal substance, possession of cigarettes would become a crime, and the number of smokers would drastically fall.
Cigarette smoking is a dangerous addiction. We should be doing a great deal more to prevent this disease and to help its victims. We call on Tony Blair's government to ban tobacco."

The idea did not attract the support of the press. An editorial in the Independent said that a ban on tobacco would be illiberal and ineffective. "Prohibition is going too far, for many of the same reasons that making other recreational drugs illegal is unwise. Putting the supply and distribution of drugs for which there is a known demand in the hands of criminals is asking for trouble. It would probably make tobacco more fashionable with young people."

An editorial in the Observer said: "Such prohibitions serve only to make criminals of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Nor should we want to add to the existing drugs, people-trading and terrorist-funding cycle."

Nor did it attract the support of the leading pressure group against tobacco, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). A spokesman said: "ASH does not support the Lancet article's call for an outright smoking ban."

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7428/1364-b BMJ, 13/12/03


A letter in The Observer from Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH, commends the newspaper for its stance stating that it is right to reject calls for an outright ban on tobacco but that we must find ways to reduce the harm caused by smoking. The letter concludes that "It is long past time for the Government to legislate to end exposure to secondhand smoke at work."

The Observer, 14/12/03


The Phoenix rises from (tobacco) ashes

The Independent reports on customer reaction to London's first totally smoke-free pub. The Phoenix, situated close to the Stock Exchange in the heart of the City, launched the tobacco-free policy last Monday and so far appears to be a great success. The pub company Laurel, owner of the Phoenix, now plans to roll out the policy to more than 100 of its 635 pubs across the country.

The Independent, 13/12/03
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/food_and_drink/news/story.jsp?story=472778






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