Author: BBC

For the first time in Great Britain, there are more over-16s using vapes or e-cigarettes than smoking cigarettes, according to the Office for National Statistics.Some 5.4 million adults use vapes daily or occasionally, compared with 4.9 million using cigarettes, an ONS survey for 2024 suggests.Daily use of vapes is most common among 25-49 year olds, with rising use among women. The popularity of cigarette smoking has been falling for the past decade as the harmful effects of tobacco encouraged many to quit, while less risky vape use has been rising – particularly among younger age groups.Vaping poses a small fraction…

ReutersChancellor Rachel Reeves is considering tax rises and spending cuts in the Budget, on 26 November.In a pre-Budget speech, she said she will make the “necessary choices” for the economy, to bring down NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living.Before the 2024 general election, Labour had promised not to increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT for working people.What happens during the Budget and what time is it?The chancellor’s Budget statement outlines government plans for raising or cutting taxes. It also includes big decisions about spending on public services such as health, schools and police. The…

Osmond ChiaBusiness reporterGetty ImagesA protester at a department store in Paris where Shein plans to open its first permanent outletOnline retail giant Shein says it has banned the sale of all sex dolls on its platform around the world, after being accused of displaying products with “a childlike appearance” on its website.The French consumer watchdog first raised concerns at the weekend over the description and categorisation of the dolls, saying it left “little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content.”The company said on Monday that it has permanently banned “all seller accounts linked to illegal or non-compliant…

Georgia RobertsPolitical Correspondent SUPPLIEDNatalie Rowntree says both she and her husband have been using sick days to attend IVF appointments Natalie Rowntree from North Yorkshire has recently started her IVF journey, and describes the process as “intense”.The 38-year-old has had seven IVF-related appointments in the space of eight weeks, including multiple blood tests, scans and X-rays, one of which left her in physical discomfort for “a good few days”.As is the nature of fertility treatment, all of these appointments have to be done at very specific times of the month – and fitting this around her job at a private…

Rental payments will be reflected in credit scores, one of the UK’s main credit ratings agencies has said. Experian said it was overhauling its scoring system to better reflect “more of the everyday financial behaviours that matter” which included things “like paying rent or reducing overdraft use”. The new system will see the maximum credit score someone can have go from 999 to 1,250, and will also give more guidance on how borrowers can improve their creditworthiness. Credit scores are used as a broad indicator of a borrower’s ability to pay back a loan. A low credit score can make…

China will begin easing an export ban on automotive computer chips vital to production of cars across the world as part of a trade deal struck between the US and China, the White House has said. The White House confirmed details of the deal in a new fact sheet after Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea this week.The nations also reached agreements on US soybean exports, the supply of rare earth minerals, and the materials used in production of the drug fentanyl. The deal de-escalates a trade war between the world’s two largest economies after Trump hit…

Getty ImagesSome high-street clinics are putting lives at risk by allowing unqualified non-specialists to carry out baby scans, the Society of Radiographers (SoR) has warned.The trade union says its members have seen examples of pregnant women being incorrectly diagnosed with serious health conditions and given dangerous advice.Other expectant mums have been sent to hospital after being told an abnormality meant they would need to end the pregnancy only to find their baby was completely healthy.It is concerned that anyone using an ultrasound machine can call themselves a sonographer and offer the service – often sold as a reassurance, souvenir or…

Theo LeggettBusiness CorrespondentJas BainsJas Bains alerted Danish authorities to a £1bn tax scam and they hit him with a lawsuit”We’d be met at airports in 20-foot limousines, and taken to places like the Atlantis hotel in Dubai or the Singapore Grand Prix. There’d be a hundred grand spent in the bar.”In 2013, Jas Bains was an ambitious young lawyer, enjoying the high life that came with working for an extremely profitable City hedge fund.Today, he is jobless and has lost most of his wealth, having spent years fighting legal battles and attempting to clear his name of association with a…

Chris VallanceSenior technology reporterGetty ImagesPornhub says the number of UK visitors to its website is down 77% compared with July, when more rigorous age checks for sexually explicit sites were introduced under the Online Safety Act.It claims sites that are ignoring the new requirements are benefiting.The BBC has not been able to independently verify Pornhub’s claim – however, data from Google shows searches for the site have decreased by almost half since the law came into effect.This could be a consequence of people reducing their porn use but could also be partly explained by people visiting the site through alternative…

Getty ImagesThousands of people from some of Scotland’s most deprived areas are to be offered free weight-loss jabs as part of government-funded research.Up to 5,000 people in Scotland will take the injections as part of the multi-million pound study being led by Glasgow University.The findings will provide insight into the lives of people living with obesity and health inequalities across the UK.If successful, it could lead to a wider rollout of the injections throughout the country.The jabs copy or boost the effects of natural hormones called incretins, which control blood sugar levels.They act on areas of the brain which impact…