ADPH calls on PM to publish tobacco bill

Today, to mark the 40^th anniversary of No Smoking Day, Directors of Public Health are calling on the Prime Minister to publish the much-anticipated Tobacco and Vaping Bill.

Forty years ago, around 35% of people over the age of 16 smoked and yet, despite the link between smoking and lung cancer being already well established, there was little Government regulation.

Since then, following the introduction of a range of legislation, including a ban on tobacco advertising and a ban on smoking in public places across all four nations in the 2000s, there has been a marked decrease in the number of people smoking, with just 11% of over-16s smoking in 2022.

This significant progress has been made through the powerful combination of evidence-based policy measures, effective stop smoking services and initiatives like No Smoking Day.

However, 64,000 people still die in the UK every year as a result of smoking. Meanwhile, thousands more experience multiple harms, illness and disease including stillbirths, lung disease, heart disease, stroke and dementia.

Greg Fell, ADPH President, said:

“The vast majority of people who smoke started at a young age, regret ever starting and have tried to quit multiple times. No Smoking Day is an excellent opportunity to remind everyone that there is support out there and that no matter how old they are, or how long they’ve been smoking, quitting will significantly improve their health and wellbeing.

“This year, we are also using the day to remind the Prime Minister about his pledge to deliver a smokefree generation. The proposed ‘Stopping the Start’ legislation sets out a historic package of measures that will reduce the harms caused by smoking and prevent ill-health, disability and death. If implemented, the proposals will also mean that children and young people are saved from ever becoming addicted to this lethal product.”

Cathy Hunt from County Durham started smoking at the age of 11 had half a lung removed after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015. Cathy underwent surgery again last year after the cancer returned and, following a subsequent kidney cancer diagnosis, has also had to have a kidney removed.

Cathy has shared her story across the North East as part of a campaign, organised by Fresh and Balance, a regional programme dedicated to reducing tobacco and alcohol harm, which is partly funded by Directors of Public Health from across the region.

Cathy said:

“This is a huge year, when the Government has said it will raise the age of sale and create a smokefree generation. It can’t come soon enough to stop kids today becoming lung cancer patients in their 40s and 50s. I think that will also give a lot of parents and grandparents an extra motivation to put smoking behind them as well. Too many people are seriously ill and dying from smoking.”

Fell, who is also Director of Public Health for Sheffield City Council, added:

“We have seen how effective legislation is at reducing smoking rates and we are urging the PM to get on and publish the bill so that it can begin its progress through parliament, and we can stamp out smoking for good.

“At a local level we will continue to provide stop smoking services and help as many people like Cathy as we can to quit but raising the age of sale is the only way we can truly protect future generations from the scale of death and disease tobacco causes.”