New research shows cancer cases have hit an all-time high. In response to the findings, various health experts are calling on the government to reinstate plans to ban tobacco sales for younger people.
The analysis from Cancer Research UK, the leading cancer charity, displays that around 160 cases linked to smoking are diagnosed every day – an increase of 20 a day compared to 20 years ago.
Overall, the UK have reduced smoking rates within the last half century although the charity estimates around 6.4 million people still engage in the bad habit. This puts individuals at a heightened risk of developing a number of different cancers including lung, bladder, cervix and stomach. What’s more, smoking is also a major cost of the public health system. Charity Action on Smoking and Health has theorised smoking cost England £17bn in 2022, some £2.4bn of which was in healthcare costs.
In response to the ongoing crisis, campaigners are calling on the government to revisit banning tobacco sales to young children – an idea that was originally proposed by the Conservatives last year. It’s currently illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18, but this number was set to increase under the new proposal preventing a vast amount of today’s teenagers from ever legally buying cigarettes.
‘Right now, six people are diagnosed every hour in the UK with cancer that was caused by smoking,’ said Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy. ‘Raising the age of sale of tobacco products will be one of the biggest public health interventions in living memory.’
Charity Action on Smoking have published an open letter in the British Medical Journal on Monday which has been signed by dozens of prominent doctors, scientists and other health figures. The group asked for the bill, as well as a commitment to publish plans for a ‘smoke free Britain,’ to be included in the upcoming King’s Speech, which is scheduled for 17th July 2024.
Within the letter, Chris van Tulleken, University College London Hospital doctor, said: ‘As a physician and advocate for public health, I firmly believe that phasing out the sale of tobacco to the next generation is a critical step towards a healthier future.
‘The tobacco industry has caused eight million premature deaths in this country over the last 50 years. Protecting the next generation from these harms will pave the way for a society where the health and wellbeing of our children come first.’
Image: haim charbit
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