Plans for smokefree generation on Isle of Wight
More money's being put into stop smoking services
More than £2.5 million will be spent on boosting stop smoking services on the Island as the Isle of Wight Council signs up to create a smokefree generation.
It is in line with the government’s plans to make smoking obsolete across the country with the money specifically allocated to increase smoking cessation and prevention services.
Figures from 2022 determined around 9.5 per cent of adults on the Islanders smoked, including approximately nine per cent of pregnant women.
The current services provided by Smokefree Island help more than 500 smokers quit each year and prevents children and young people from taking up the habit,
Speaking at the council’s cabinet meeting yesterday (Thursday), Simon Bryant, the Isle of Wight’s public health director, said there had been some complacency around smoking, with smokers not considering it a key health issue.
He said the money will help the council increase its services and signing up to the declaration shows “our really strong commitment”.
The council said smoking continues to be the single most preventable cause of ill health and premature death on the Island as well as the main driver of health inequalities.
It revealed that every year 612 Islanders die and a further 1,381 residents are admitted to hospital because of smoking.
A total of £2,547,480 will be given to the Isle of Wight Council over the next seven years to expand the core smoking cessation offer and will encourage other partners on the Island to follow suit and “push towards a smokefree 2030”.
Cllr Debbie Andre, the cabinet member for adult social care, said the council really wants to support those who want to quit smoking as it is an issue which affects a wide range of people across the Island.
She said there would be a range of interventions including vaping but stressed they actively discouraged vaping by those who do not smoke.
The money will help provide effective ways to tackle smoking through a comprehensive and collaborative approach, Cllr Andre said.
The council has also signed up to the ‘Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control’ which is a public statement of the council’s commitment to action on tobacco control and protect residents from the harm caused by smoking.