I see first-hand the devastating effects of smoking - health chiefs back drive for smoke free generation
Health leaders across the North East are supporting plans to create a smoke-free generation with less than one year to go before the age of sale for tobacco is raised.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is part of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, and it is just one year to go until January 2027 when it will become illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after 1 January 2009, eventually creating a smoke-free generation, as well as curbing irresponsible marketing of vapes to children.
New data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows that 69% of 11–17-year-olds in Great Britain who currently smoke say that, if they could go back in time, they would not have started smoking.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) say they want to quit.
According to the ASH most adults who smoke first try it before the age of 18.Starting younger is associated with increased harm including subsequent heavier smoking, higher levels of dependency, a lower chance of quitting, and higher mortality.
In the North East, 69% of adults support the proposals to raise the age of sale by a year each year.
Fresh and Balance is a regional programme dedicated to reducing the harm from tobacco and alcohol in the North East of England.
Ailsa Rutter OBE Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Most people – whether they smoke or not - want a smoke-free future for the next generation, free of the death and the many diseases caused by tobacco.
“Nobody who starts smoking young ever intends to smoke for life. Most people who smoke get addicted young, regret it and may spend years trying to stop.
“This is about giving our next generation a life free of a cancer-causing addiction which costs tens of thousands of pounds over a lifetime and ends up killing two out of three people.
“It is part of building stronger, healthier communities and putting money into local people’s pockets, not those of tobacco companies.”
The North East also has a Declaration for a Smoke-free Future which is supported by local authorities and the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board.
Over 50 organisations from the region submitted responses in a consultation in 2023 – from fire and rescue, local authorities and NHS Trusts to the Association of Directors of Public Health North East and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
North East local councils and NHS Trusts also recently showed their public support around a smoke-free generation and backing the need to go further to reduce smoking.
Dr Neil O’Brien, Executive Medical Director for North East North Cumbria NHS ICB, said: “Smoking is still our key driver of health inequalities, and the many illnesses smoking causes puts a significant pressure every day on our NHS.
“As a GP I see first-hand the devastating effects smoking has on the health of my patients and the impact it also has on their loved ones too, which is why every frontline health professional can make a life-saving difference by encouraging people to quit.
“We know that if we reduce smoking even further, we will not only enable people to live longer healthier lives, reduce illness and hospital admissions and create healthier communities.”
Amanda Healy, Durham County Council’s Director of Public Health and Chair of the Association of Directors of Public Health North East Network, added: “Local authorities, NHS trusts and many other organisations overwhelmingly support creating a smoke-free generation.
“Smoking now costs our region nearly £2 billion a year – a cost not just felt by families and communities but to our economy, local authority social care budgets, and to the NHS.
“Everyone knows that smoking kills, but we sometimes forget how it also renders people too ill to work or look after themselves. No family who has seen a loved one suffer from smoking wants this for their children or grandchildren.”