§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the annual cost to the national health service of treatment of smoking-related diseases for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Evans) on 4 July 1990 at column594. This estimate is not sufficiently precise to justify the calculation of yearly figures, although it is checked on a regular basis.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many working days his Department estimates are lost due to smoking-related illness; what is the estimated cost to the gross national product from such days lost; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. DorrellThe Royal College of Physicians has estimated that over 50 million working days are lost each year due to smoking related disease. The likely cost in terms of lost production is about £2,200 million to £3,200 million.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the fourth annual report of the committee for monitoring agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship will be published; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellWe expect the committee's fourth annual report to be published by the summer.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's negotiations to date with the tobacco industry on the control of tobacco advertising.
Date Venue Purpose 30 January 1990 Department of Health The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords) met the Tobacco Advisory Council to discuss the draft EC Tobacco Advertising Directive 31 January 1990 Department of Health The Secretary of State met the Tobacco Advisory Council to open negotiations on updating the voluntary agreements on tobacco advertising and product modification 27 March 1990 Department of Health Officials met the Tobacco Advisory Council to carry forward negotiations on updating the voluntary agreements 15 May 1990 Department of Health Officials met the Tobacco Advisory Council to carry forward negotiations on updating the voluntary agreements 14 November 1990 House of Lords The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords) met the Tobacco Advisory Council to discuss the implementation of EC Directives on Tobacco 23 January 1991 Department of Health The Secretary of State met a representative of Imperial Tobacco Ltd. to discuss various tobacco related issues.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of acute beds in national health service hospitals and the total number of in-patient bed days per annum he estimates are used by patients suffering from smoking-related diseases; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellThe number of bed-days attributable to smoking-related disease was estimated in 1985 to be between 2.8 million and 4.8 million a year. The current figure is likely to be of the same order.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has of the relationship between consumption of cigarettes, particularly by children, and increases in prices; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DorrellI refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chislehurst (Mr. Sims) on 13 January 1989 at column768. We are not aware of any new studies which have become available since 1989.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the future of the Health Promotion Research Trust.
§ Mr. DorrellThe funds given to the trust by the tobacco industry will soon be exhausted. I understand that the trustees are prepared to examine other possibilities for continuing the work of the trust.
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§ Mr. DorrellDiscussions have been under way with the tobacco industry on updating the voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising since the beginning of 1990. Some progress has been made, but the industry is reluctant to conclude a new agreement until it is clear about the impact on its business of European Community directives to complete the single market. We are pressing the industry to conclude a new agreement in the near future.
§ Mr. AmosTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings he, his predecessor, his Ministers and his Department's officials have had with representatives of the tobacco industry since 1 January 1989; and if he will list the dates, venues and purpose of each meeting.
§ Mr. DorrellOfficials regularly meet the tobacco industry to discuss a whole range of issues including the working of the voluntary agreements and EC measures on tobacco. Following is a list of the main meetings since 1 January 1989: