The North East has been the only region of England with a “clear vision” for how to eradicate smoking, a Durham MP said this week.
City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy (Labour) was quizzing health experts from around the country as party of scrutiny over the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Commons. The landmark legislation will raise the smoking age by a year, every year – so that people who are 15 or younger will never legally be able to buy tobacco products.
The plan is to create a “smokefree generation”. Speaking in Westminster, MP Ms Foy said work from groups such as the Fresh campaign in our area had led the way nationally.
She said: “I am from the North East region, where we have high deprivation and high smoking prevalence. It is the only region that has a clear vision—if you like—and declaration from Fresh and the directors of public health for how to achieve a smoke-free country.”
The MP sits on the bill committee examining the plans – and witnesses including England’s chief medical officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty said they were confident in the difference to public health the law would make.
Ms Foy added: “We have heard overwhelmingly from the witnesses how important the Bill will be for tackling inequalities and bringing about a smoke-free future.”
She also asked the Government if there were still plans to monitor targets for supporting smokers to quit in areas like the North East. She said: “That way, we can keep an eye on those smokers who do want to quit and what the smoking prevalence ranges are in those areas. A few of the witnesses and submissions have called for that, saying how it would help them.”
Prof Whitty praised the new bill – which he said improved on the previous legislation, which he said had been itself “very good” – by adding protections for those exposed to smoke in public places. Plans to ban smoking in beer gardens were dropped last year, but it is still set to become illegal to smoke outside of hospitals or playgrounds, for example.
Prof Whitty said: “The Bill allows the Government to take powers to prevent outdoor smoking, first with additional public consultation and then additional measures in Parliament. Ministers have indicated the areas where they intend to use these powers to reduce the risks of passive smoking.
“These are the areas of the greatest vulnerability: around hospitals, where some of the most medically vulnerable are highly concentrated; and around children’s playgrounds, where children are—I think everybody who does not have shares in cigarette companies would agree that exposing children to second-hand smoke is an unacceptable thing to do.”
Hazel Cheeseman from national charity Action on Smoking and Health paid tribute to the “world-leading” legislation. She said: “It will really set us on that path toward being a smoke-free country. However, it will not be the last word in how that is achieved.
“We have six million smokers across this country, and we need to ensure that all of our agencies are lined up to do the job that they need to do to help those people stop smoking—the NHS, local government and integrated care boards across the system need to have the right approach.”
Public health minister Andrew Gwynne said: “A key aspect of reaching our smoke-free ambition is to drive down the prevalence of current smokers. That means a real investment in smoking cessation, a close eye on what is happening on the ground, and using the flexibilities in the Bill, should they be needed, to ensure that we reach that smoke-free ambition.
“We announced £70 million of stop smoking funding this week, which has been weighted towards the areas with highest deprivation and smoking prevalence, so that we can try to drive down those inequalities. Obviously, future years funding is subject to the usual processes of the spending review, but let me make it clear that it is a priority of this Government to invest in stop-smoking services.
“We will ensure that local authorities and the public health functions of the country have the resources needed to reach a point where we are smoke free.”
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/north-east-only-region-clear-30741172
