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01/02/2010
Smokers 'Halved' By 2020
An ambitious new strategy will halve the number of smokers, from 21 to 10% of the population by 2020, Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham announced today.
The number of people smoking has fallen by a quarter in the past decade – just last year 337,000 people stopped smoking thanks to free support from the NHS.
Under the new strategy, more smokers will be encouraged to get support from the NHS where professional help will be even more accessible and provide a wider range of options will be available to suit everybody.
Research shows that seven out of ten smokers want to give up.
The government will aim to stop young people being 'recruited' as smokers by cracking down on cheap illicit cigarettes.
Every smoker will be able to get help from the NHS to suit them if they want to give up - new types of support will be available at times and in places that suit smokers.
The Government said it will carefully consider the case for plain packaging.
Moves will also be made to stop. the sale of tobacco from vending machines.
The smoking ban could also be extended from enclosed public places and workplaces to areas like entrances to buildings.
Mr Burnham said: "Today’s strategy renews our commitment to virtually eradicate the health harms caused by smoking, and I firmly believe we can halve smoking by 2020. In ten years’ time, only one in ten people will smoke.
"Most smokers start before they are 18, so we have to discourage children and young people from ever starting. Now that we’ve banned advertising and will soon see an end to attractive displays in shops, the only remaining method of advertising tobacco is the packaging.
"So we will carefully consider whether there is evidence for making tobacco companies use plain packets."
Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said: "We must keep pushing hard for a tobacco free future and keep up the momentum gained by England going smokefree in 2007.
"Since then, the number of people who have given up smoking has increased, so this new strategy and targeted support will help smokers who want to quit, to give up for good."
Although smoking rates are declining, the epidemic is far from solved, with more than 80,000 deaths attributed to smoking a year. Smoking costs the NHS £2.7 billion a year and our communities much more.
(PR/BMcC)
The number of people smoking has fallen by a quarter in the past decade – just last year 337,000 people stopped smoking thanks to free support from the NHS.
Under the new strategy, more smokers will be encouraged to get support from the NHS where professional help will be even more accessible and provide a wider range of options will be available to suit everybody.
Research shows that seven out of ten smokers want to give up.
The government will aim to stop young people being 'recruited' as smokers by cracking down on cheap illicit cigarettes.
Every smoker will be able to get help from the NHS to suit them if they want to give up - new types of support will be available at times and in places that suit smokers.
The Government said it will carefully consider the case for plain packaging.
Moves will also be made to stop. the sale of tobacco from vending machines.
The smoking ban could also be extended from enclosed public places and workplaces to areas like entrances to buildings.
Mr Burnham said: "Today’s strategy renews our commitment to virtually eradicate the health harms caused by smoking, and I firmly believe we can halve smoking by 2020. In ten years’ time, only one in ten people will smoke.
"Most smokers start before they are 18, so we have to discourage children and young people from ever starting. Now that we’ve banned advertising and will soon see an end to attractive displays in shops, the only remaining method of advertising tobacco is the packaging.
"So we will carefully consider whether there is evidence for making tobacco companies use plain packets."
Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said: "We must keep pushing hard for a tobacco free future and keep up the momentum gained by England going smokefree in 2007.
"Since then, the number of people who have given up smoking has increased, so this new strategy and targeted support will help smokers who want to quit, to give up for good."
Although smoking rates are declining, the epidemic is far from solved, with more than 80,000 deaths attributed to smoking a year. Smoking costs the NHS £2.7 billion a year and our communities much more.
(PR/BMcC)
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