Cancer Campaigns latest news

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced today the opening of a consultation on plain cigarette packs, which will run until 10 July.

While this consultation is running we’re asking our supporters to show their support for plain packs, because they will give millions of kids one less reason to start smoking.

Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "Now the consultation on tobacco packaging has been launched, we welcome the opportunity for our supporters and researchers to show their support for reducing the appeal of cigarettes.

"Tobacco is a uniquely dangerous product so any action that helps reduce smoking rates is vital. Research shows children are drawn to brands with appealing packaging. The cigarette pack is simply a seductive marketing tool that attracts young people into a habit that kills half of all long term smokers. Put simply this silent salesman promises pleasure but delivers death.”

An opinion poll published on Sunday found strong public support for the sale of plain packaged cigarettes in England. The survey, by conducted by YouGov for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), found 62 per cent supported the policy whilst only 11 per cent were opposed to the move.

But we can only make plain packs a reality if people stand up and show their support. Please sign our petition today.

You can find out more about plain packs and why they’re needed on our more information and evidence page.

From today, tobacco displays in large shops and supermarkets must be covered up in England, either behind shutters or moved under the counter. This signals a huge leap forward in the fight to protect children from tobacco marketing, because making cigarettes less visible to children and young people is key to changing the way they think about cigarettes.

This is a direct result of our supporters’ hard work for our Out of Sight, Out of Mind campaign. It’s always fantastic to see a campaign win turn into reality on the ground, and we couldn’t have achieved this without the support of our campaigners.
There is strong evidence that stacking cigarettes next to crisps and sweets makes tobacco seem like a normal part of everyday life. Around 80 per cent of smokers start by the time they turn 19, so it’s vital cigarettes aren’t seen as regular, harmless products instead of the deadly and addictive drugs they really are. Preventing young people from starting to smoke is vital and putting tobacco out of sight is a step towards putting them out of mind for the next generation.

Of course our work is not yet over on this front. Cancer Research UK is working to ensure that these laws come into force for smaller retailers in England as planned for April 2015. There are similar laws on covering up displays across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we’re continuing to push hard for these laws to be brought in as soon as possible.

But right now, you can help us close the last main loophole tobacco firms have open to them to market their products attractively. We’re campaigning to get the glitzy branding removed from cigarette packs, to help reduce their appeal to young people by making them plain

Plain packaging will complement the removal of tobacco displays. It won’t stop everyone from smoking, but it will give millions of children one less reason to start. Find out more and take action.

The Government has today announced that up to £250million will be made available to set up proton beam radiotherapy centres in Manchester and London.

The centres will be fully available by 2017 and will be the first of their kind available in the NHS, with patients currently travelling abroad for treatment.

Proton beam therapy uses charged particles instead of X-rays to deliver radiotherapy and is particularly valuable for childhood cancers and adult brain, neck and head cancers as side effects are reduced. You can read more about this announcement on the Cancer Research UK news pages.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported last year’s campaign calling on the Government to make sure that the best radiotherapy treatments are available to everyone who needs them.

For other ways to get involved, find out more about our latest campaign for plain tobacco packs.

Yesterday the Policy department headed to Westminster to host an expert briefing on the plain packaging of tobacco products.  The event was attended by Peers and MPs from across the three parties to learn more about the evidence behind our campaign.

Attendees heard from Professor Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at the CR-UK Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL (University College London), and Peter Astley MBE, Head of Public Protection at Warrington Borough Council. They discussed the evidence base for plain packs and dispelled some myths around smuggling.

We were also delighted to be joined on the day by three of our Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors, Emilie and Mark (pictured with John Leech MP) and Alan Peace. Alan Peace from Wolverhampton who joined us at the event to show his support said: ’I do not want to see my 10-year-old grandson take up smoking and want to do anything that will help steer him away from it... That is probably my main reason for wanting to get involved in the campaign. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and I even got to meet with my MP Gavin Williamson to discuss the campaign”

You can find out more about plain packs and support our campaign here.

Every year around 157,000 children aged 11-15 start smoking – that’s enough to fill 5,200 classrooms or make up nearly 14,000 junior football teams.

These shocking figures, revealed in a new analysis by Cancer Research UK, highlight the ongoing scale of the tobacco problem, and underline the importance of sustained action to discourage young people from starting to smoke.
That’s why Cancer Research UK is petitioning the government to bring in plain packaging of tobacco so children are less likely to be seduced by the sophisticated marketing techniques designed to make smoking attractive to youngsters. But we can’t do it without your help, please sign the petition today.

Cancer Campaigns Ambassador Jim Richardson started smoking when he was 15 and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010. Jim said "I know first-hand how horrific lung cancer is and how it’s almost always preventable by not smoking in the first place. My wife Di and I run children’s day nurseries and out-of-school clubs in Hexham and Prudhoe caring for young children. I would hate to think that any of the hundreds of children we have looked after might ever go through what I have because they were tempted by one glitzy packet attempting to make smoking look cool."

You can read this article in full on our news site.

Please show your support for plain packaging today and help give millions of kids one less reason to start smoking.

We’re delighted to report that Tobacco giants Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco, British American Tobacco and Phillip Morris have dropped their lawsuit to challenge the removal tobacco point of sale displays in shops.

Tobacco displays will be removed from large shops from April 2012 and smaller shops from 2015 following our Out of Sight, Out of Mind campaign victory last year. Thousands of you voiced your support for the campaign to put an end to these tobacco advertising spaces and protect children from taking up smoking. It’s fantastic news that this victory is now unchallenged.

Sarah Woolnough, Cancer Research UK's director of policy, said: "We were always confident that the tobacco industry would lose their case because the evidence shows that selling cigarettes alongside sweets and crisps makes them seem like a normal, everyday product rather than a deadly and addictive drug.

"Pursuing legal action to try to stop policies to reduce smoking backed by public health experts is a standard tobacco industry tactic. The threat of this legal action has put back action to remove tobacco displays in other parts of the UK.

"The Government will soon be consulting on putting cigarettes in plain packaging so that all tobacco products look alike, with no distinctive branding and with large picture health warnings. The tobacco industry will be making similar claims that the policy is illegal, but we expect that these claims will come to nothing as well."

Find out more about our campaign for plain packaging of tobacco products and get involved today on The Answer’s Plain campaign page.

On 3 November the Cancer Campaigns team took over 36,000 petition signatures to Downing Street as a part of our Voice for Radiotherapy campaign, calling on the Government to improve radiotherapy services in England. Every year in England thousands of people are missing out on this lifesaving treatment due to shortages in staff and equipment so together, we called on the Government to put this right.

Our Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors have played such a vital role in the campaign so we were delighted to have Ambassadors Barbara and Elizabeth join us on the day to hand in the petition along with Gavin Barwell MP.

Why not find out more about the campaign and our Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors.

Underage smokers will find it harder to buy cigarettes from today as cigarettes will no longer be sold from vending machines in England. Our supporters campaigned hard for this, and we’re so pleased to see these vital laws having at last been made a reality in England.

Without having to have a face-to-face encounter with a shopkeeper, vending machines were a ridiculously easy way for teenagers to buy cigarettes. In fact, when local councils tested whether underage people were able to buy cigarettes from vending machines in the last financial year, over half of the venues failed. So this new law represents a huge step forward in protecting under-18s from the dangers of smoking.

The Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley CBE MP said: “The ban on cigarette sales from vending machines will protect children by making cigarettes less accessible to them - we want to do everything we can to encourage young people not to start smoking in the first place."

Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s director of tobacco control, said: “Tobacco kills half of all long-term users and is responsible for one in four cancer deaths. Cancer Research UK is determined to protect children from tobacco marketing and through our Out of Sight Out of Mind campaign we are continuing to work for legislation to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes.”

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have passed similar laws and we look forward to them being brought in as soon as possible.

Our most recent campaign, The Answer's Plain, aims to protect children from tobacco marketing by introducing plain packaging for tobacco products. Find out more and get involved.

On Thursday 8 September, Cancer Research UK hosted the first listening event of the second round of the Government’s 'Future Forum 2' programme. The NHS Future Forum is chaired by Professor Steve Field, a GP and former chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Its purpose is to help the Government make sure that the views of NHS staff, patients and local communities are heard as it brings in plans to reform and modernisation the NHS.

Six of our Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors who have a strong interest in the early diagnosis of cancer attended the event, including Lynne Denham and Caroline King, and pictured here (left to right with Campaigning Manager Sophie Jones, centre) are Rochelle Bugg, Mark James, Nigel Lewis-Baker and Tony Selman.

Professor Field and his team listened to a wide range of expert views on the day, from patients to cancer network representatives; cancer charities to cancer commissioners. Discussions followed on how local authorities and clinical commissioning groups should work together to promote awareness and early diagnosis of cancer, and attendees were keen to communicate with the Future Forum what they valued in the current delivery of cancer services and so what needed to be retained and improved.

We'd really like to thank all six Ambassadors for making themselves available for these important discussions, as their voices at this event have helped to ensure that the Government keeps patients and carers at the heart of their thinking on NHS reform.

The Independent today revealed that the world’s largest tobacco company, Philip Morris, has put in a Freedom of Information request to see a university’s data on smoking habits amongst teenagers. The research, which is part-funded by Cancer Research UK, contains over 5,000 confidential interviews with teenagers expressing their views on cigarette marketing, packaging and shop displays. Since 85% of adult smokers began in their teens, this information is of huge importance both to tobacco control campaigners, and to tobacco companies looking to attract a new generation of smokers.

Philip Morris initially made the request anonymously and was rejected. They have now made requests in their own name. Researchers at the University of Stirling say that handing over highly sensitive data would be a gross breach of confidence that could jeopardise future studies.

Jean King, Cancer Research UK’s Director of Tobacco Control highlighted that there is a direct conflict between the interests of tobacco companies, and public health. To illustrate the point, she drew attention to tobacco companies’ own documents, which stress how their youth smoking prevention campaigns are designed primarily to promote their own image, rather than reduce smoking.

Protecting children from tobacco has and will continue to be a key campaign topic for Cancer Research UK. Tobacco remains the largest preventable cause of cancer yet approximately 340,000 under-16s try cigarettes for the first time each year (pdf 6250K). A consultation into plain packaging will be held by the Government later this year.

Find out more about The Answer's Plain campaign for the plain packaging of tobacco products and support the campaign today. 

Last November, 71 Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors travelled to Westminster to ask their MPs to support our campaign for the early diagnosis of cancer. The day was a fantastic success and today we found out that we’ve been shortlisted for the 2011 Public Affairs News Awards in the Innovative Campaign category.

On the same day that Ambassadors met their MPs, we had member of Cancer Research UK staff meeting with key politicians and a photo-shoot with one of our Little Stars with David Cameron.

The day was an amazing success and resulted in the government delivering on both of our campaign calls. Shortly after the event an extra £25 million was made available for diagnostic tests with more power for GPs to order these tests. The government also committed to collecting more accurate data on the stage at which cancer is diagnosed so we can see where attention is needed.

Thanks so much to everyone who took part. If you want to get involved in similar events, you can find out about our Ambassador programme here.

The award night is 16 November - Wish us luck!

This week, a group of Cancer Campaigns Ambassadors attended a Cancer Research UK reception in Westminster Palace. The Ambassadors, who were joined by scientists and other volunteers from every region of the UK, spoke to MPs and Lords about the amazing work that they do in their local area. In addition to talking about their volunteering work, Ambassadors also spoke to politicians about the value of science to the health of the nation as well as the economy. Thanks to everyone who came along and played their part, the event was a great success. You can see more pictures from the event here.

The Cancer Campaigns team was delighted to award Ambassador Sarah Burnett-Moore with her special commendation in the ‘Ambassador of the Year’ category for the ‘Flame of Hope’ volunteering awards.

Every year, Cancer Research UK recognises the outstanding contribution our volunteers make through giving their time to fundraising, campaigning and media work for the charity. In 2011, the ‘Flame of Hope’ awards were expanded to recognise even more volunteers, creating a new special commendation for each award category. We’re so pleased Sarah now joins Nigel and Justine in being recognised for her excellent advocacy work to help gain political support in Westminster for our campaigns.

Jon Spiers, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigning, presented Sarah with her award following a talk she gave to Cancer Research UK staff on her trip to Namibia with the Bobby Moore Fund, to raise funds for bowel cancer research. Jon was quick to praise Sarah’s campaigning for earlier diagnosis through the Westminster 2010 lobby, in addition to her engaging role in a Westminster expert briefing for MPs and Peers to better inform them of the importance of radiotherapy.

Our congratulations go to Sarah as a thoroughly deserving campaigning advocate for the charity, but also as a prolific fundraiser and media voice.

On Friday 10 June Cancer Research UK held its ninth annual 'Flame of Hope' awards ceremony, to celebrate some of the charity's most exceptional volunteers who have shown outstanding dedication to the cause. 

The event took place in the very smart Hotel Russell in central London. On arrival, award winners and their families chatted with other volunteers and Cancer Research UK staff, followed by an extended celebratory lunch. Justine and Nigel had both been nominated for the award by two teams as they work extensively across the charity to share their stories and do media work on top of their political campaigning role with the Cancer Campaigns team. It was lovely to recognise them for their achievements and meet members of their family who accompanied them on the day Monica Sheils and Janet Lewis-Baker (pictured below).

This year there were 14 award categories, including 'Ambassador of the Year', which Justine and Nigel jointly won as they are both outstanding advocates who have shown exceptional commitment and dedication to the charity.

Other awards to celebrate shop volunteers, fundraisers and corporate champions. In addition to the individual award categories, 24 'Honorary Fellowship' awards were presented to some of the charity's most loyal and long-standing volunteers. An Honorary Fellowship is the highest accolade Cancer Research UK can give to any volunteer and it recognises at least 20 years service to the charity, but in many cases actually a lifetime of support.

Once it was time to formally recognise all the volunteers present, they were each introduced one-by-one and walked up to the stage to receive their award from  Michael Pragnell, Cancer Research UK's Chairman. Aisling Burnand, Executive Board Member at Cancer Research UK, took the time to tell the audience about Justine and Nigel's outstanding contributions and they are pictured here receiving their awards from the Chairman.

Following the ceremony, Nigel commented: "I was humbled by the achievements and activities that other supporters had given to Cancer Research UK, some over many years. I've just been having fun supporting Cancer Research UK! It's taken me to amazing places and I've met incredible people and I thoroughly enjoy my new 'career' with Cancer Research UK!"

Justine, equally delighted, said: "I am so proud, listening to everybody's stories here today, that I have had the opportunity to be able to raise skin cancer awareness for Cancer research UK".

Congratulations to Justine and Nigel who thoroughly deserve this recognition for their efforts to help beat cancer!

This morning, the Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley announced that cancer networks will receive funding in 2012-2013, after then funding responsibility will pass to the NHS Commissioning Board. We were concerned that cancer network’s expertise would be lost in the changeover to GP commissioning proposed in the Bill, so it’s a great relief that these networks will be able to continue their crucial work.

Sarah Woolnough, Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “We are delighted that Andrew Lansley has listened to the concerns of cancer charities and health professionals and guaranteed the future of cancer networks. They will have a vital role to play – supporting the commissioning of key cancer services and encouraging integrated working in a reformed NHS.

For this to happen, it’s important that they are appropriately funded so they can effectively support cancer services through the reforms. Networks will also want to prioritise the early diagnosis of cancer in their areas as the Government has committed to saving 5000 additional lives each year by 2014 through early diagnosis of cancer.”

As debate continues on the Health and Social Care Bill, Emily and Emma from the Policy team at Cancer Research UK explain what the bill means for cancer and what Cancer Research UK is doing to influence the legislation.

Cancer is a political issue and political decisions save lives. So in advance of the assembly elections in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on 5 May, we’ve been working to keep cancer high on the political agenda. Hundreds of supporters have been writing to their candidates to ask them to Commit to Beat Cancer. We’re pleased to announce that 246 candidates signed the Cancer Commitment to support measures to beat cancer if elected. Thanks so much to all of you who took part in this campaign. You can find out more about the campaign here and we will update this page once we know more about the political landscape and how best to campaign further in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

On 3 May the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. This is fantastic news for our campaign, meaning that under-18s in Northern Ireland will be protected from the increased risk of skin cancer that sunbeds expose them to. The Executive is yet to announce the exact date when these laws will be officially brought in.

These new laws for Northern Ireland are particularly significant as they form some of the strongest regulation of sunbeds in the whole of Western Europe. The Act also stops under 18s in Northern Ireland from being able to buy or hire sunbeds, ensures that sunbed salons will have to be supervised and salon staff will have to be properly trained and could require that all salons are registered and licensed. We’re also pleased that health information on the risks of sunbed use will have to be provided to adult users and buyers, and salons won’t be able to claim any health benefits of using sunbeds. Protective eyewear will need to be available in all salons, and salon staff will need to encourage customers to use it.

We’re really pleased about this news and we’ll be keeping a close eye on the date when these laws will be ‘switched on’ to help protect a whole generation of young people in Northern Ireland.

Under-18s in England and Wales will be better protected from the harmful effects of sunbeds as The Sunbeds Act comes into effect on 8 April.

We’re really pleased that under-18s will not have access to sunbeds in England and Wales from 8 April because skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK, and is on the rise . In addition to this the Welsh Assembly Government has gone a few steps further. From 31 October all sunbeds in all sunbed businesses will have to be supervised to make sure that under-18s are not able to access these facilities, and health information will have to be available for all adults wanting to use sunbeds. Adults will also be required to wear safe and appropriate eye-protection.

So many of our supporters campaigned for this change. We’re so grateful for their support, and this shows the progress that campaigning can have when we all work together to beat cancer.

Sarah Woolnough, Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said:
"We are delighted that young people will be protected from sunbed use from April 2011 and that the Welsh Assembly Government will introduce supporting regulations to make the legislation as effective as possible. We believe the legislation will help save lives.

You can find out more at: http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/healthandsocialcare/2011/110329sunbeds/?lang=en.

Cancer Campaigns Ambassador Duncan Baird attended cancer question time at the Welsh Assembly as a part of the Commit to Beat Cancer campaign in the devolved nations. Duncan asked representatives of the four main parties what they would do, if elected, to support the research base in Wales. 

Watch the video to see how he got on and, if you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, see our Commit to Beat Cancer campaign page today and email your candidates using our quick and easy tool.

The Government announced today its tobacco control plan for England - Healthy lives, Healthy People - which includes measures we've been calling for as part of our Out of Sight Out of Mind campaign. 

It's good news that the Government plans to take down tobacco displays in shops and is considering stripping the attractive packaging from cigarettes. These two moves would complement each other very well and together would help save lives.

But we are very disappointed that there is going to be such a delay in the removal of tobacco displays in small shops. We must never forget that every day 400 children start smoking. Our young people will be exposed to persuasive tobacco marketing for three years longer than necessary. However, it is positive that the Government will still remove cigarette vending machines as planned.

Like smokefree laws and the ban on tobacco advertising, plain packaging would be a giant leap forward in protecting public health. Research shows that plain packaging reduces false beliefs about how harmful different tobacco products are. We also know that plain packs are less attractive, especially to young people, and they make the health warnings on cigarette packets more effective.

This announcement is a fantastic result and real testament to all the hard work Cancer Campaigns supporters have put in to ensure campaign success. To read more details about the new tobacco control plan and watch an interview with our Director of Policy on how important this news is, check out our blog post.

The Commit to Beat Cancer campaign has launched in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, aiming to get cancer on the political agenda in the run-up to devolved assembly elections on 5 May 2011.

We’re asking parliamentary candidates to sign our Cancer Commitment, and if you're based in the devolved nations you can email candidates to outline the campaign asks and request their support. We're keen to get the message out to as many candidates as possible, so that once the elections have taken place we know that making cancer outcomes amongst the best in Europe is a political priority for all three of the devolved Governments.

If you're really passionate about going that extra mile to beat cancer, why not become a Cancer Campaigns Ambassador to make a big political difference? You could be the local face of our Commit to Beat Cancer campaign in your constituency at this crucial point between now and the May elections, and beyond. For more information about this unique volunteering opportunity click here, email us at campaigning@cancer.org.uk or call us on 07795 334929.