Software to reduce hospital waiting times and enhance operating theatre efficiency will be rolled out in NHS boards across Scotland over the next year.
Developed by clinician-led tech company Infix, the national theatre scheduling tool improved operating room efficiency by up to 25% without the need for extra medical staff or additional theatres during successful pilots across three health boards. It also enabled the completion of additional operations for patients which resulted in significant financial savings.
The platform will now support all NHS Boards to increase productivity, remove paper processes, and reduce the overall administrative burden in the creation and approval of theatre lists, which can delay patient treatment.
In a speech in Edinburgh later today, Health Secretary Neil Gray will outline the role of innovation and collaboration in the future of Scotland’s health service.
He said: “Better use of data and digital technology is critical to how we drive improvements in healthcare and is a key part of our plans to reform services.
“This technology is backed by more than five years’ worth of NHS operating times data and is just one of the initiatives that will help enable us to schedule 1.5 million procedures per year – while improving data quality to help safely increase productivity. This will help maximise capacity, build greater resilience and reduce waiting lists.
“Reducing the administrative burden on staff will give them more time to spend on patient care. This is a shining example of how we are embracing cutting edge tools to tackle the challenges facing health and social care.”
Consultation asks whether newly qualified dentists should commit to delivering a minimum amount of NHS work after graduating or repay some training fees
Proposals would require dental graduates to work in the NHS for several years after graduating or repay their training fees
Part of Westminster government and NHS plan to recover dentistry and boost the dental workforce through 40% training expansion
Training an individual dentist can cost up to around £300,000, of which costs in the region of £200,000 are not repayable by the student.
However, a growing proportion of dentists are opting to go straight into private practice or are choosing to deliver little to no NHS work shortly after completing postgraduate dental foundation training.
Of more than 35,000 dentists registered with the General Dental Council in England, just over 24,000 delivered some NHS care in England in 2022 to 2023. This means nearly one-third of registered dentists are not contributing to NHS dentistry and may be working solely in private practice.
Under its consultation, which will run for 8 weeks, the government is asking whether newly qualified dentists should commit to delivering a minimum amount of NHS dental care for a minimum number of years after graduating, and whether they should repay some of the public funding invested in their training if they do not.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I want to make access to dentistry faster, simpler and fairer for everyone – and part of this is ensuring that dentists are supporting the NHS with their skills and expertise.
Taxpayers make a significant investment in training dentists, so it is only right to expect dental graduates to work in the NHS once they’ve completed their training.
“This builds on our dental recovery plan, which set out how we will create up to 2.5 million extra appointments this year alone and is already showing results with an extra 500 practices providing appointments.”
Thursday’s proposals form part of the government’s overall plan to accelerate the recovery of NHS dentistry from the COVID-19 pandemic and reform how NHS dentistry operates.
They build on the aims of NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to expand the dental workforce and improve access to NHS dental care, especially in under-served parts of the country.
The UK government believes working in the NHS will give dental graduates the best start to their careers, by giving them the broadest range of experience, great support from strong teams of dental professionals and the most comprehensive training.
Experience in NHS dentistry helps to produce well-rounded clinicians who can work alongside different professions and deliver high quality and safe patient care, and can be supplemented by additional work in private dentistry. The government believes this balance is better for our skilled dental workforce and better for the patients they treat.
NHS dentists are currently delivering a greater volume of NHS treatment than the year before, with ‘courses of treatments delivered’ increasing by 23% in 2022 to 2023, compared to the previous year.
Primary Care Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “I want to thank our hard-working dentists for their efforts in treating more and more patients over recent years and helping us improve access to care.
“Through our dental recovery plan, we’re helping the sector recover from the pandemic and making NHS dentistry a more attractive career choice.
“Today’s proposals will ensure dental graduates benefit from the broad experience and comprehensive training of working in the NHS, while also delivering value for money for the taxpayer.”
There is currently no requirement for dentists to work in the NHS following the completion of their training. In contrast, a graduate medic in the UK must undertake a minimum of one year of foundation training to register as a doctor, followed by an additional year of foundation training and at least 3 years of general practice specialty training to become a GP.
Jason Wong, Chief Dental Officer for England, said: “Dental services were severely impacted by the pandemic, and it is a priority for the NHS to improve access, so it is easier for people to see a dentist.
“We launched our dental recovery plan earlier this year to deliver millions more appointments across England – and boosting the workforce is one step we can take to achieve this.”
Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair of the Association of Dental Groups, said: “We welcome the chance to engage with this consultation and ensure the NHS benefits from the skills of our graduate dentists.
“We need to see more trained dentists entering the profession and we will work with the government to ensure these proposals reflect the sector’s mixed economy and considers the needs of both NHS and private dentistry.”
Louise Ansari, CEO at Healthwatch England, said: “We welcome the opportunity for the public to have their say about these long-term proposals to address dental workforce issues, especially as access to NHS appointments continues to be one of the main issues we hear about from people across the country.
“We also look forward to seeing separate government proposals on reforming the NHS dental contract in the coming months, as set out in the dental recovery plan.
“In the meantime, NHS bodies that plan and fund dentistry across England should take concerted and imaginative action to ensure people in greatest need can get dental care quickly.”
The launch of the consultation is the latest milestone in the delivery of the Westminster government’s dental recovery plan.
Since the plan was published in February, the government and NHS have worked to:
introduce a new patient premium, supporting dentists to take on new patients – with more than 500 more practices saying they are now open to new patients compared to January
launch the ‘golden hello’ recruitment scheme to incentivise dentists to work in under-served areas
raise the minimum units of dental activity (UDA) rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable
Responding to the proposal that Dental graduates in England could be compelled to work in the NHS work or face repaying some training costs,Prof. Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, commented: “As most dental graduates already start their careers in the NHS and contribute to NHS patient care as an undergraduate student and during their early professional career, we are uncertain of what practical benefits this proposal will have.
“Most dental graduates have also accrued significant personal debts to complete their dental training, usually in excess of £100,000. Therefore, we believe this proposal is likely to make NHS dentistry even more unattractive for dentists to provide NHS dental care as their career develops.
“As per our election manifesto, we believe a more constructive approach is needed that focuses on creating a positive working environment to encourage sustained delivery of NHS practice. This means reforming the current dental contract, improving workforce planning and a renewed emphasis on preventative health and reducing health inequalities.
“We believe positive rather than punitive steps are required to lift morale, improve dental recruitment and retention, and improve access to services for the benefit of patients and the population.”
Residential rehabilitation projects among those awarded £3.6 million
Fourteen drugs support projects, which will help save and improve lives as part of the Scottish Government’s National Mission on Drugs, have been awarded funding which will ensure key frontline services continue to support those dealing with problematic drug use.
Ten projects will receive continuation funding of £2.6 million, with four new residential rehabilitation initiatives receiving £1 million.
The awards will allow organisations providing residential rehabilitation to hire staff to provide more in-depth support to people as they transition from rehab, develop a new women’s recovery house and upgrade existing properties.
Visiting Crossreach’s Residential Recovery Service in Glasgow, Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Christina McKelvie said: “This funding and these projects are helping to save and improve lives across Scotland.
“It will support a wide range of initiatives, from rescuing vulnerable people from having their homes and lives taken over by drug-dealing ‘cuckooing’ gangs, to supporting outdoor recovery programmes and expanding recovery cafes.
“It will support a wide range of initiatives, from rescuing vulnerable people from having their homes and lives taken over by drug-dealing ‘cuckooing’ gangs, to supporting outdoor recovery programmes and expanding recovery cafes.
“It also includes a very significant investment in developing residential rehabilitation services. Increasing access, and improving these services is another key part of our National Mission and we’re well on our way to our target of increasing the number of statutory funded placements to 1000 by 2026.”
Crossreach will use an award of £357,816 to employ two new staff members to improve aftercare provision at its Glasgow residential rehabilitation facility.
Director for Adult Care Vic Walker said: “This funding, across three years, will allow us to maintain support to people as they transition back into the community after completing a residential rehab programme.
“Practical and emotional support will be offered, as they link with an assertive aftercare worker and access counselling.
“We know that this type of support is crucial, as they enter the next stage of their recovery journey, leaving the supportive environment of the rehabilitation service and establishing themselves back into their local community. We will help people to use the knowledge and skills gained in rehab, as they access activities and services.”
Carolyn Sawers, chief executive of Corra, which has made more than 300 National Mission grant awards to organisations across Scotland, said: “Corra’s vision is for a society where people can create positive change and enjoy fulfilling lives.
“With £3.6 million going to 14 organisations through the National Drugs Mission Fund, we will see real impact for communities across Scotland. We are pleased to see four new residential rehabilitation services receive funding, taking a people-first approach that’s built on compassion, relationships, and rights.”
New 10-year plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol workforce published
Police officers, probation workers, paramedics, nurses and other professionals will be able to provide take-home supplies of opioid overdose treatment to save lives.
New 10-year plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol workforce published.
Part of government mission to reduce drug deaths and support people with recovery
More professionals such as nurses, paramedics, police officers and probation workers will be able to supply a life-saving opioid overdose antidote without a prescription to save the lives of the most vulnerable, the UK government has announced.
The government will shortly update legislation to enable more services and individuals to provide take-home supplies of naloxone, which almost immediately reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by reversing breathing difficulties.
This means the medicine can be given to a family member or friend of a person who is known to be using opiates – such as heroin or opioids including potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl or nitazenes – or to an outreach worker for a homelessness service working with people who use these drugs, to save lives in the event of an overdose.
Alongside this, the government is today publishing a new 10-year strategic plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce.
This is the first national workforce plan for this specialist part of the health workforce in England and outlines key milestones to grow, train and develop staff. This will include bringing more new and experienced professionals into the sector and developing better training for roles that are currently unregulated such as drug and alcohol workers.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Opioid addiction can ruin lives and is responsible for the largest proportion of drug-related deaths across the UK.
“We are working hard to reduce those numbers by expanding access to naloxone to save the lives of the most vulnerable.
“Our 10-year workforce plan will expand and boost the training of the next generation of drug and alcohol workers to improve services and support people to get their lives back on track.”
The workforce plan builds on the government’s 10-year drugs strategy to combat illicit drug use and reduce drug deaths. Expanding access to naloxone will contribute to the government’s ambition to prevent nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths in England by the end of 2025, reversing the upward trend for the first time in a decade.
As part of the strategy, an additional £532 million is being invested between 2022 and 2025 to improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment.
This additional funding is supporting the expansion of the workforce by the end of 2024/25 with:
800 more medical, mental health and other regulated professionals
950 additional drug and alcohol and criminal justice workers
more drug and alcohol commissioners in every local authority to commission services more effectively
More than 3,900 additional staff have already been recruited using drug strategy funding.
The new workforce plan, developed by the Office for Health and Improvement (OHID) and NHS England (NHSE), builds on this progress and maps out the next 10 years of workforce transformation with key 1-year, 3-year and 10-year milestones.
This includes:
New training curriculums for three currently unregulated roles by March 2025. These roles are drug and alcohol workers, children and young people’s drug and alcohol workers and peer support workers. Accredited training will be available for these roles by March 2027 and the first cohorts of trainees will complete their training by March 2029.
More addiction psychiatry training posts to expand the bank of posts currently available by March 2025.
More regulated professionals working in the sector will mean services have high-quality clinical governance and clinical supervision in place by March 2027.
Naloxone can currently be administered by anyone in an emergency but can only legally be supplied without prescription by a drug and alcohol treatment service to a person to take home for future use.
The government will update legislation via a statutory instrument to expand the number of services and professions which can supply the medicine over the next few weeks.
It follows a public consultation in which the responses were overwhelmingly supportive of proposals.
Opioid-related deaths make up the largest proportion of drug-related deaths across the UK, with an average of 40 deaths a week, and widening access to naloxone for those at risk of overdose will make a substantial difference.
In 2022, opioids were involved in:
73% of drug misuse deaths registered in England
60% of drug misuse deaths registered in Wales
82% of drug misuse deaths registered in Scotland
60% of drug misuse deaths registered in Northern Ireland
Deidre Brock MP has called for compensation for the victims of the infected blood scandal to be put in place without further delay.
The Edinburgh North and Leith MP formally handed in a petition to the UK Parliament on behalf of her constituents, prior to the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry being published on Monday May 20th.
The petition calls on the UK Government to implement the findings of the second interim report published in April 2023, which has already provided recommendations about compensation.
The inquiry Chair Sir Brian Langstaff made clear at the time that the compensation scheme should be set up straight away, to avoid adding to the decades-long delays people had already suffered, yet over a year later there is still no clarity and no timeframe has been set for payments.
The petition was led in Edinburgh North and Leith by Deidre Brock’s constituent Justine Gordon-Smith who, together with her sister Rachel lost their father, Mr Randolph Peter Gordon-Smith, to the contaminated blood scandal in deeply traumatic circumstances. They have been tirelessly campaigning ever since.
Ms Brock said: “I am handing in this petition on behalf of everyone in Edinburgh North and Leith who is working so hard for justice – people who received infected blood, their carers and the families of those who have been lost in the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.
‘The moral case for compensation has long been accepted by government, so what are we waiting for? More delays merely worsen people’s suffering.
‘It’s a tragic truth that people who were infected are dying while the government dithers over the justice they and their families deserve.
‘The interim report was clear that they should go ahead with compensation immediately and that was published over a year ago.
“When will they lay out a clear – and short – timeframe for victims to get the compensation they’ve been waiting decades to receive? Or is the UK Government planning to kick this into the long grass again until they are kicked out of office?
‘I commend the efforts of my constituent Justine who has been tireless in her fight for equitable treatment for all those affected. I stand squarely with her, her sister and everyone who has suffered as a consequence of this scandal. They have already struggled enough and this battle for compensation is one they should not have to keep fighting.
‘I urge the government to finally do the right thing and deliver justice to the victims of the infected blood scandal.”
The UK Government has funded 350 additional medical school places in England for the academic year 2025/26 in latest step to deliver NHS Long Term Workforce Plan
The Government has funded 350 additional medical school places in England for the academic year 2025/26
This is the next stage in delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan commitment to double medical school places by 2031
The places have been allocated to medical schools across the country but targeted to address disparities in the distribution of places and support under-doctored areas
The Westminster government has allocated an additional 350 medical school places, to deliver the future workforce the NHS requires.
Last year, the NHS set out its Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by more than £2.4 billion in government funding. It outlines how the NHS will recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years – delivering the biggest training expansion in the health service’s history.
One of the key commitments is doubling the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 by 2031, and levelling up the geographic training of places to help tackle unequal access to services.
In the next step to deliver this commitment, the Office for Students (OfS) has now allocated 350 places in the academic year 2025/26 to medical schools across the country.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Thanks to the Government’s plan for a faster, simpler and fairer healthcare system, the NHS now has record funding, and a record number of doctors.
“I want to make sure that we will have the medical professionals we will need in the years ahead.
“That’s why we are delivering the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, and doubling the number of medical school places, so we can train the next generation of world-class doctors to offer patients the highest-quality care.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Our frontline health workers do tremendous work in serving the nation every single day and ensuring all of us receive the care we need.
“I know what a popular career medicine is among young people, and it’s so important they have the chance to pursue their ambitions.
“With this expansion of places – alongside our new doctor degree apprenticeship – the opportunities for a career in medicine are greater than ever.”
Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England said: “This is a hugely important moment for the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and marks one of the first steps towards our ambition to train more doctors in England than ever before – the record expansion will help us boost care for patients right across the country.
“The ambitious blueprint for our workforce, is a once in a generation opportunity to put NHS staffing on a sustainable footing, particularly as we continue to adapt to new and rising demand for health services.”
Dr Katie Petty-Saphon, CEO, Medical Schools Council said: “The Medical Schools Council welcomes the announcement of 350 additional student places from 2025.
“Medical schools are committed to widening participation to the profession and particularly important is the need for local recruitment in under-doctored areas.
“We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that the NHS has the staff it needs to deliver high quality patient care.”
Places have been provided across the country, but the OfS has used analysis of geographical distribution provided by NHS England to target under-doctored areas in its allocation of the places.
This includes substantial increases to medical schools at universities in Sunderland, Leeds, East Anglia, Anglia Ruskin, Plymouth and Surrey. The University of Surrey is also receiving government-funded places for the first time.
This is the second year of expansions to deliver the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. Delivery started a year early, allocating 205 additional medical school places for the 2024/25 academic year, including providing Government-funded places to three schools for the first time.
This builds on the 25% expansion of medical school places in England that the Government completed in 2020, taking the total number of places to 7,500 per year and delivering five new medical schools.
A combination of the additional medical places this year and next, along with medical apprenticeship places, puts us on track to exceed current plans.
Through the allocation of places for 2026/27 and beyond, the Government and NHS England will work closely with partners including medical schools, NHS trusts and the General Medical Council to deliver ambitious reforms to medical education set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Responding to the announcement the Government is to fund 350 further medical school places for 2025/26, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Adrian Boyle said: “This latest news detailing the uplift of med school places is welcome. Medicine remains one of the best, rewarding – and, I hope, – still attractive careers.
“But medical school places can only ever be part of the picture. They must also be accompanied by the educators needed to teach and mentor these students, and enough dedicated specialty training places for them to move on to when they have qualified.
“However, it is pointless investing in the next generation if the Government does not also look after the current workforce – morale is at rock bottom, stress levels are sky high, and attrition is a serious problem.
“Medicine is a vocation which starts the day you step through the doors of Med School and lasts a lifetime. Proper government support is nothing less than these dedicated professionals need and deserve.”
An Edinburgh based diabetic patient has been told she will be not given the new closed loop diabetic pump technology, despite the fact that she has been testing the system, for the NHS since last year.
Megan Ormond, who has had diabetes for all her teenage and adult life, contacted Labour MSP, Sarah Boyack to raise her situation.
Ms Ormond was taking part in a study of the closed loop system and was told partaking in this study would likely secure her the technology faster.
However, at her last meeting, she was told, due to budget cuts, the closed loop system would not be made available to her after the study.
While using this closed loop system, her HBA1C which is used by doctors to test a patient’s glucose levels over the last 3 months, has been the lowest it has been for her entire time with diabetes.
The Scottish Government’s Diabetic Improvement Plan cites rolling out the closed loop system, as quickly as possible as a key target.
However, due to budget cuts and required savings, NHS Lothian is unable to carry out their rollout of the system at their expected rate.
NHS England began rolling out the closed loop system on the 1st April 2024.
Commenting on Megan’s case, Lothians MSP Sarah Boyack, said: “Megan’s case shows the absolutely shocking state the SNP Government has allowed NHS Lothian to fall into.
“Life changing technology and treatment are being denied to patients due to a lack of funding. That is unacceptable anywhere in Scotland, never mind our nation’s capital.
“The Scottish Government must act to ensure Megan and other diabetics are able to access this ground-breaking treatment as they were promised.
“There is real opportunity to improve the quality of life for diabetes patients in Edinburgh, but that opportunity isn’t just being denied to my constituents its being snatched away.”
A closed loop system is a game changer for T1 diabetics. One of my constituents tested this system for the NHS However, due to budget cuts the system can’t be rolled out as planned and she must revert to her old insulin pump. The SNP's cuts are rolling back these opportunities pic.twitter.com/P7i40rNDc8
Holyrood agrees continuation of policy and increase to 65p
The minimum price per unit of alcohol will increase by 15 pence after the Scottish Parliament approved plans to continue with the public health measure.
As part of a ‘sunset clause’ when Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) legislation was introduced in 2018, it had been due to end on 30 April, however today’s vote by MSPs ensures its continuation.
In addition, a price increase was required to counteract the effects of inflation, with a rise to 65p selected as the Scottish Government seeks to increase the positive effects of the policy.
The increase will take effect on 30 September 2024.
Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Christina McKelvie said: “I’m pleased that Parliament has agreed to continue MUP legislation and to raise the level it is set at.
“Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to reducing health inequalities.
“Despite this progress, deaths caused specifically by alcohol rose last year – and my sympathy goes out to all those who have lost a loved one. However, as a letter to The Lancet by public health experts makes clear, it is likely that without MUP there would have been an even greater number of alcohol-specific deaths.
“As we have made clear, the policy aims to reduce alcohol-related harm by reducing consumption at population level, with a particular focus on targeting people who drink at hazardous and harmful levels.
“We believe the proposals strike a reasonable balance between public health benefits and any effects on the alcoholic drinks market and impact on consumers. Evidence suggests there has not been a significant impact on business and industry as a whole but we will continue to monitor this.”
MPs to vote on legislation to create first smoke-free generation, protecting young people turning 15 this year or younger from harms of smoking
MPs will vote today (16th April 2024) on world-leading legislation to protect future generations across the UK from the harmful effects of smoking.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009 – children aged 15 or younger today. Smoking itself would not be criminalised and anyone who can legally buy tobacco today will never be prevented from doing so in the future by the legislation.
If passed, the Bill will progress to the next stage, bringing the UK closer to creating the first smoke-free generation.
Responsible for around 80,000 deaths annually, smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer and costs the NHS and economy an estimated £17 billion a year—far more than the £10 billion annual revenue from tobacco taxation.
It is also highly addictive – 4 in 5 smokers start before the age of 20 and remain addicted for the rest of their lives despite most smokers having tried to quit.
The legislation will cover all tobacco products, recognising that tobacco kills two-thirds of long-term users. In England alone, almost every minute someone with a smoking-related condition is admitted to hospital.
The Bill will help deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment of creating a smokefree generation which could prevent over 470,000 cases of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other deadly diseases by the turn of the century.
Alongside action to prevent creating future smokers, the government has already announced significant additional funding for stop smoking services over the next five years, effectively doubling the money available for local initiatives that can help existing smokers to quit. The government is also rolling out an innovative financial incentives scheme to help all pregnant smokers to quit.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: “Too many people know someone whose life has been tragically cut short or irreversibly changed because of smoking, which despite significant progress remains the UK’s biggest preventable killer.
“The truth is that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. It is uniquely harmful and that is why we are taking this important action today to protect the next generation.
“This Bill will save thousands of lives, ease the strain on our NHS, and improve the UK’s productivity.”
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also give the government new powers to tackle youth vaping by restricting flavours and regulating the way that vapes are sold and packaged to make them less appealing to children.
While vaping can play a useful role in helping adult smokers to quit, non-smokers and children should never vape. The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive.
To ensure compliance with the new rules, trading standards officers will be given new powers to issue on-the-spot fines (fixed penalty notices) to retailers unlawfully selling tobacco or vapes to children. All the money raised would be used to fund further enforcement action.
The Bill follows the government’s previously stated commitment to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes under existing environmental legislation, which have been a key factor behind the rise in youth vaping. The ban is planned to take effect from April 2025.
Public Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom, said: “Smoking is the number one preventable cause of disability, ill health and death in this country. Once it becomes a habit, its addictive nature means that it is extremely difficult to stop.
“Because the case against these harmful products is so strong, it’s not surprising that the majority of the British public—including those who smoke and those who sell tobacco—support plans to protect the next generation from the misery of smoking.
“Our plan will save lives, ease the strain on our NHS, and ensure a brighter future for our children.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England said: “Smoking kills and causes harm at all stages of life from stillbirths, asthma in children, stroke, cancer to heart attacks and dementia.
“This Bill, if passed, will have a substantial impact – preventing disease, disability and premature deaths long into the future.”
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill being voted on today is radical but, hard as it is now to believe, so were the smokefree laws when they were put before parliament. Parliamentarians can be reassured that the public they represent back the Bill.
“New research just published by ASH shows that the majority of tobacco retailers and the public, including smokers, support the legislation and the smokefree generation ambition it is designed to deliver. This historic legislation will consign smoking to the “ash heap of history.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation said: “Smoking continues to devastate the nation’s health, taking 15,000 UK lives every single year due to cardiovascular disease alone.
“Raising the age of sale for tobacco each year will be a game changer, meaning that future generations are protected from serious disease and death caused by smoking.
“Decisive action is needed to end this ongoing public health tragedy – we urge every MP to vote for this landmark legislation at the Bill’s Second Reading.”
Professor Steve Turner, Royal College for Paediatrics and Child Health President, said: “Without a doubt the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will save lives.
“By stopping children and young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and tobacco we decrease their chances of developing preventable diseases later in life, and will protect children from the harms of nicotine addiction.
“As paediatricians, we strongly urge MPs to use the important responsibility they have and support this Bill to protect children’s and our nation’s current and future health.”
Dr Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “Today’s vote is a critical step towards the UK becoming a world leader in tobacco control. By voting in favour of the age of sale legislation, MPs will be putting us on the right side of history, and helping to create the first ever smokefree generation.
“Smoking is still the leading cause of cancer in the UK. Now is the time to take action, end cancers caused by smoking and save lives.”
ASH Scotland has responded to yesterday’s Scottish Government’s Ministerial Statement on Working Towards a Tobacco-free Scotland by 2034 and Tackling Youth Vaping.
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said: “We warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to reducing the harms caused by tobacco which continues to be the biggest preventable killer of people in Scotland with more than 8,000 deaths each year.
“We are pleased that the Minister has listened to concerns expressed by ASH Scotland and has confirmed the Scottish Government is content that, if the UK Government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill is passed at Westminster, no one buying addictive, health harming tobacco products under-age in Scotland will be criminalised.
“We do, however, want to see the Scottish Government taking rapid action in laying, at the earliest practicable opportunity, its proposed restrictions tightening the rules on the advertising and promotions of recreational vaping products which were consulted on two years ago in Spring 2022 and are enabled by legislation passed in Holyrood back in 2016.
“Following mounting evidence of adverse health impacts, and studies consistently showing that youngsters who use e-cigarettes are up to three times at greater risk of starting to smoke tobacco, government must move at pace to take all vital steps to protect young people’s health.
“Waiting for potential four-nation agreement by MPs at Westminster, with a General Election pending, presents a severe risk of delays to regulations that children’s health and wellbeing can ill afford.
“As most e-cigarettes contain high levels of nicotine, which is extremely addictive, as well as toxic chemicals that have not been safety tested for inhalation and can damage lung health, retail marketing restrictions need to be introduced urgently as a vital measure to discourage youth vaping by reducing the promotion and visibility of e-cigarettes on our high streets and in communities across Scotland.”
