Tobacco and Smoking

• Smoking is the UK's single greatest cause of preventable illness and early death. More than 120,000 people in the UK die from smoking each year
• Currently around 10 million adults in England smoke
• 26% of adults smoke (25% of women, 27% of men)
• 26% of 15 year old girls and 16% of 15 year old boys smoke
• 70% of smokers say they want to give up
• Smoking causes a wide range of illnesses, including various cancers (lung cancer is the most significant), respiratory diseases and heart disease
• Smoking costs the NHS between £1.4 and £1.7 billion a year in England

Health Inequalities

• Smoking is the single biggest cause of health inequalities
• Cigarette smoking is the primary reason for the gap in life expectancy between rich and poor people.
• People living in the most deprived areas are nearly three times more likely to be smokers than those living in the most affluent areas
• Smoking prevalence is significantly higher among people with mental health problems. People with psychotic disorders who live in institutions are particularly vulnerable: over 70% of this group smoke. Some of the excess mortality of people with mental health problems is potentially preventable if they are given support to stop smoking
• Men and women in manual socio-economic groups are more likely to smoke than people in non-manual occupations. 20% of men and 17% of women in the professional and managerial groups smoke compared to 34% of men and 30% of women in routine and manual groups.

In Staffordshire

• Estimates of national smoking prevalence show that that the percentage of the population that are smokers has dropped, from 28.5% to 26.5%.In the Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA area this has dropped from 26.1% to 24%.
• Synthetic estimates of smokers suggest that Cannock Chase PCT is above the Great Britain average (26.8%)
• When prevalence is considered at a locality level, there are clear hotspots, including Newcastle-under Lyme, Biddulph, Leek, Cheadle, Uttoxeter, Burton Town, Lichfield City, Tamworth, Stafford, Stone and South Staffordshire

For more information on smoking see the    Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Jan 08

National and Local Targets

There is a national PSA target to:

'Reduce adult smoking rates from 26% in 2002 to 21% or less by 2010, with a reduction in prevalence among routine and manual groups from 31% in 2002 to 26% or less by 2010'.

In addition, there is a local PSA2 target to:

'increase the numbers of people who stop smoking, and stay stopped for 52 weeks, from 638 people in 2004, up to 3031 people by 31.3.08'.

This work is led by the Primary Care Trusts Stop Smoking Services.

What Is Effective in Reducing Smoking and Helping People to Quit?

Health Development Agency evidence briefings summarise the evidence on Smoking and Public Health.

In addition, The British Thoracic Society and National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) www.nice.org.uk provide the evidence base for smoking cessation and underpin the provision of NHS Stop Smoking Services. This guidance recommends the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and bupropion for smokers who have expressed a desire to stop smoking.

Related Links

www.nice.org.uk

www.hda-online.org.uk/documents/smoking_eb_summary.pdf

Helping People to Stop Smoking

Smoking is the most important single preventable cause of ill health and mortality experienced by people in Staffordshire. As a consequence, reducing the detrimental impact of smoking is a major priority locally.

NHS Stop Smoking Services consist of a number of integrated cessation schemes delivered in a wide range of settings This network of schemes provide free support to those wanting to quit enhanced by a range of professionals delivering brief interventions and referring to the services.

Local Stop Smoking Services in Staffordshire

For information on finding your local NHS Stop Smoking service:

• North Staffordshire - covering Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on Trent telephone 0800 085 0928
• Stafford & Codsall area - "Time to Quit" telephone 0800 056 7890
• South Staffordshire NHS Stop Smoking Service
  South Staffordshire PCT covers the following district areas: 
  East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Tamworth, Lichfield, Stafford and South Staffs.

  www.southstaffordshirepct.nhs.uk/services/quit/index.asp

  Or CALL 0800 0434304 OR TEXT 'Quit' to 60777

   

Useful Contacts

NHS Smoking Helpline: 0800 169 0 169

Text phone: 0800 169 0 171

Quit line: 0800 00 22 00

Useful Websites

www.givingupsmoking.co.uk

www.nosmokingday.org.uk

www.click2quit.com

www.ash.org.uk

www.tobaccofactfile.org

NHS Asian Tobacco Helplines:

0800 169 0 881 - Urdu

0800 169 0 882 - Punjabi

0800 169 0 883 - Hindi

0800 169 0 884 - Gujarati

0800 169 0 885 - Bengali

Reducing Exposure to Second-hand Smoke

A review of current literature suggests that smoke-free workplace and public places decrease smoking rates and protect people from breathing in second hand smoke.

Key pointers on best practice for reducing exposure to second-hand smoke.

• Smoking prevalence could be reduced by 3.8% if smoking in workplaces was banned.
• Public support for smoking bans in the workplace is increasing. Approximately seventy per cent of the population are non-smokers and according to a MORI poll conducted in September 2003, 61% believed that bar workers should be able to work in a smoke-free environment. The Big Smoke Debate conducted in the West Midlands revealed that 80% would support a law to ban smoking in all workplaces.
• Smoking bans help to tackle inequalities in health, those working in the hospitality industry and small businesses tend to be in lower paid jobs and they are most at risk from exposure to second-hand smoke.
• Smoke-free workplace and public places gives an unequivocal message to children about the unacceptability of smoking. One study, which looked at the effect of smoking restrictions on teenage smoking, found that enforced bans have a protective effect on teenage smoking.

The Chief Medical Office also recommends that:

Local tobacco alliances should raise awareness of second-hand smoke and campaign for more smoke-free public and workplaces in their regions.

• The public sector, particularly Central Government Departments and the Health Service, should take a lead and this year set dates by which their premises will be become entirely smoke-free.
• Regional Directors of Public Health should develop plans to tackle second-hand smoke as part of their regional tobacco control strategies and should take the lead as local champions of change.
• The HDA guidance on implementing the Cancer Plan advises that local plans to address second-hand smoke include a range of strategies including objectives to:
• Ensure that all local hospitals have smoking policies (DH, 1998a; HEA, 1999b), and that these are fully implemented
• Implement policies to restrict smoking in public places (Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health, 1998)
• Encourage restaurants, bars and other leisure facilities to provide smoke-free areas

Fichtenburg C M, Glantz S A (July 2002) Effect of Smoke-Free Workplaces on Smoking Behaviour: Systematic Review BMJ: 235

Wakefield WA et al (2000) Effect of Restrictions on Smoking at Home, at School and in Public Places on Teenage

Smoking: Cross Sectional Study BMJ 321:333-337 CMO (2003) Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2002 DoHHAD (2002) Cancer Prevention: A Local Resource to Support Local Action in Delivering the NHS Cancer