Smoking rates in Hull have dropped by almost 12 per cent in the last decade and to celebrate local people are invited to share their quitting tales this national No Smoking Day.
Dr James Crick, consultant in public health medicine / associate medical director at NHS Hull CCG, said:
“This No Smoking Day we would love to hear from local quitters. Whether you used patches, vapes or went cold turkey; it’s time to pat yourselves on the back and tell us how you did it! Ditching the cigarettes isn’t easy. It’s something to be proud of.”
Wednesday 13 of March is No Smoking Day and throughout the day local quitters can shout their own praises and share their personal story with Hull City Council and NHS Hull CCG using Facebook or Twitter.
Simply tweet at @NHSHullCCG / @Hullccnews or comment on the Facebook post which will go live Wednesday morning at www.facebook.com/NHSHullCCG
The last decade has seen overall smoking rates in Hull drop. Notable achievements include:
- The proportion of adults who smoke has dropped from 38.7 per cent to around 27 per cent
- Smoking rates in pregnancy have fallen from almost 30 per cent to just over 21 per cent
- The numbers of 15-year-olds who smoke has fallen from 29 per cent to 9.8 per cent
- Our four-week quit rates for stop smoking services are 60 per cent – described as ‘incredibly impressive’ in an independent review. For comparator local authorities, the region and England, the four-week quit rates were 50 per cent, 54 per cent and 51 per cent respectively
- Fewer young people are taking up smoking; among those aged over 25, 40 per cent had never smoked and 54 per cent of those aged 16-24 had never smoked. Rates of smoking in pregnancy have fallen from 23 per cent to 21 per cent
Claire Farrow, programme lead for behaviour change with Hull City Council’s public health team, commented:
“We want to encourage and inspire a smokefree generation of people who can live free from many of the health limitations caused by smoking.
“However, smoking still directly kills 40 Hull residents each month. It’s never too late to quit. Our local stop-smoking services have some of the highest success rates in the country and if you seek help, you are four times more likely to quit for good. Just get in touch!”
Locally, Hull’s public health specialists are focussing on creating a future generation where smoking is not the norm – this starts with children having the opportunity to grow up without experiencing second-hand smoke.
Innovative projects have been implemented in Hull to challenge the acceptance of smoking in public and support people to quit. All of the city’s 91 public playgrounds are smoke-free, as are the school gates at every primary school and most recently, all teams in the Hull and East Riding Junior football league adopted a no-smoking policy on the sidelines of every game – spectators and coaches are all asked not to smoke on the sidelines, or within sight of the young players. New ideas to support and create smoke-free spaces to be developed.
If you would like free support to quit without judgement, text QUIT to 61825 or visit: www.smokefreehull.co.uk. You can also call: (01482) 247 111. Available support includes patches, gum, groups, one-to-one help and support via an app, text or email.
