Conservative spokesperson for Public Health in Plymouth Councillor Lynda Bowyer today welcomed the latest news on a reduction in the number of people smoking tobacco in Plymouth. She explained, "I recently sat as Vice Chair of the City's Health and Wellbeing Board at which latest statistics were shared".
The facts - we still have around 39,000 tobacco smokers in our City, which accounts for 18% of adults in Plymouth. This is higher than the England national average of 15%. We have a higher proportion of tobacco smokers in some areas where we recognise that more help should be offered. The estimated annual cost of smoking to Plymouth in 2018 is £63 million. The number of smoking related deaths in Plymouth since 2011 is 3150 people.
So where do we go from here?
- we recognise that e-cigarettes have key role in driving down rates of tobacco smoking
- vaping with e-cigarettes is estimated to be 95% less harmful, but stopping smoking altogether is the best thing a smoker can do for their future health. We will urge smokers to follow this advice
- we need to discourage tobacco smoking and offer more support to help people stop smoking by means of better and more effective advice
The Health and Wellbeing will continue to keep a close eye on this difficult topic - things are slowing improving but there is still more to do.
