Latest News: Cancer Campaigns
Health Bill debate begins in the House of Commons
MPs will start to debate the Health Bill in the House of Commons on June 8 and we need to make sure there is as much support as possible for the tobacco control measures we’re backing. We want the House of Commons to vote in favour of ending point of sale displays, and to show support for removing vending machines and bringing in plain packaging.
Please email your MP and ask them to speak in favour of the measures Cancer Research UK is supporting. Your voice is invaluable in showing MPs that people want tobacco out of sight and out of mind. With the current controversies in Parliament, MPs will be listening to their constituents more than ever! It takes seconds and you’ll be helping protect future generations from getting hooked.
House of Lords votes to put tobacco out of sight and out of mind
The House of Lords have voted overwhelmingly to protect children from tobacco marketing at the point of sale in shops. Putting displays of tobacco out of sight will help reduce the pull towards this potentially deadly addiction. This is fantastic news.
However the Lords voted against completely removing cigarette vending machines. This is disappointing as complete removal would be the only effective way to ensure children cannot get cigarettes this way.
The legislation will now start its journey through the House of Commons. We’ll be calling on our supporters to write to their MP over the next few months to keep the pressure on.
If you’d be interested in meeting with your MP to discuss these issues further then please email us for more information.
Scotland vows to protect children from tobacco marketing
The Scottish Government has proposed removing tobacco displays from the Point of Sale and a complete ban on the sale of tobacco from vending machines in Scotland. This is very exciting news and will reduce the pull towards a potentially deadly addiction.
The legislation still needs to get through parliament so if you live in Scotland please email your MSP today!
New legislation on tobacco announced
On Tuesday December 9 the Government announced new legislation on tobacco – this is exciting news, but they could do more.
We’re pleased to see that they intend to remove tobacco displays from the point of sale and further investigate plain packaging for cigarettes.
But we were very disappointed to see that they haven’t committed to getting rid of tobacco vending machines. 17% of 11-15 year old smokers get their cigarettes this way – removing the machines altogether is the best way to stop this.
Email your MP today asking them to support the new measures and push for strong action on cigarette vending machines. It only takes a minute and you will be helping to stop tobacco taking more lives.
Let’s put tobacco out of sight and out of mind.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind petition hand-in
On November 19, Cancer Research UK presented Health Minister Dawn Primarolo MP with over 50,000 petition signatures calling on politicians to protect children and young people from tobacco advertising.
The petition, part of the Out of Sight, Out of Mind campaign, was presented by 18 year old anti-tobacco advocate Naomi Hodgson. The campaign urges the government to prohibit the display of tobacco at the point of sale, ban tobacco vending machines, and make plain packaging for tobacco products compulsory. David Taylor MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, also attended the event and took part in a photoshoot.
Scottish Government unveils cancer plan
The Scottish Government has unveiled a new cancer strategy, Better Cancer Care, An Action Plan, detailing what they will do to improve services for cancer patients.
This is great news, and we welcome the real commitment from the Scottish Government to improving cancer services across the country. This document is an important step towards our shared goal of improving cancer services for all.
Our Cancer 2020 campaign launched in 2006 and urged Ministers in all four UK nations to plan for the future of cancer. We handed in over 265,000 petition signatures to the Scottish Parliament in February 2007.
For more detail on this news read our response.
Next steps for Out of Sight, Out of Mind
The Department of Health have now closed their consultation on tobacco control. The CancerCampaigns team would like to say a huge thank you to all supporters who got involved and responded to the consultation on our behalf. In total over 9,000 emails were sent to the Department of Health calling for better protection of children from tobacco marketing.
The Charity also submitted our own response to the consultation, calling for a wide range of measures to reduce the affordability, accessibility and appeal of tobacco products.
The campaign will continue over the next few months so why not sign our petition and keep an eye on this site to find out how you can get involved.
September 2008: TV presenter Konnie Huq adds her name to Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Konnie Huq, TV presenter, has shown her support for extinguishing tobacco marketing to children by sending a letter to local newspapers across the country calling on others to take action.
August 2008: Out of Sight, Out of Mind campaign launches!
Earlier this year, the Department of Health announced a consultation on tobacco control, and we called on our campaigners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to respond.
We believe that children and young people have the right to be protected from the marketing and promotion of tobacco, a product that kills half of all long-term smokers.
The consultation closed on September 8 so find out more and join the campaign today!
June 2008: Campaigners show politicians that Screening Matters
Over the past three months CancerCampaigners have been bombarding MPs, MSPs and Welsh Assembly Members with emails in support of our Screening Matters campaign.
Through our website campaigners have been able to send a pre-written email to their local elected representative and we’ve had a huge response. Over 8,200 emails have been sent to MPs in England, over 7,300 to MSPs in Scotland and more than 1,600 to AMs in Wales.
In Wales we are campaigning on bowel cancer screening. The Minister for Health, Edwina Hart, has responded to our call by giving further detail on the roll out of the programme. We are liaising with the Minister about timelines for the roll out.
In Scotland and England we wanted to find out more about local provision and uptake of cancer screening. Emails asked MPs and MSPs to write to their local PCT or Health Board respectively. We’ve already had a wonderful response and are beginning to put together a report on the local situation and best practice in screening services.
If you emailed your MP, MSP or AM about Screening Matters and have had a response we’d love to see it! Please contact us to let us know.
March 2008: CancerCampaigns Ambassadors take Parliament by storm
The first ever lobby by CancerCampaigns Ambassadors took place on Wednesday 26 March in the Houses of Parliament.
The sixteen Cancer Research UK supporters, who acted as Ambassadors for the Screening Matters campaign, came from across England and spanned 9 of the 10 Strategic Health Authorities.
As well as signing the Early Day Motion in support of the campaign and meeting with the Chief Executive of their PCT to discuss local screening programmes, MPs promised to visit a local screening unit or community group to raise awareness of the issue. In addition to this, a parliamentary question is in the offing as well as a meeting with the Minister, Ann Keen MP, about specific screening issues.
