Sheffield stop smoking campaign for helping thousands to quit
Since 2017, smoking has been cut in the city, from 17.6% of the population to 10.3%.
A Sheffield stop smoking campaign has been praised for its major success in helping people to quit.
Sarah Hepworth, tobacco control lead at Smoke-Free Sheffield, told the city health and wellbeing board yesterday (June 26): “In Sheffield our primary aim for the tobacco control strategy is to get to a smoke-free generation by 2030 and achieve either 5% smoking prevalence or make smoking obsolete, and that’s across all social groups.
“Smoking affects health, wealth, happiness and opportunities to work, climate change and the wider economy in Sheffield.”
Ms Hepworth said that Sheffield has one of the most active stop smoking campaigns in the country, working with 50 partners.
Since 2017, smoking has been cut in the city, from 17.6% of the population to 10.3%.
Ms Hepworth said there is still work to do as 53,000 Sheffield adults continue to smoke. They see their GP up to a third more than non-smokers.
Every year, 5,000 smokers end up in hospital and there are 63 deaths a year.
Newborn babies who are born to smokers have lower birth rates and other health complications.
People with mental health conditions are more likely to smoke, as are people living in deprived areas, said Ms Hepworth. She said that the city has spent £3 million on smoking cessation but smoking costs the city £400 million in total.
To hit the 2030 target, 26,500 people would need to make a quit attempt every year.
She said that campaigns and support now help people to cut down on smoking, as well as quitting altogether. Changing that emphasis has shown “tremendous” results.
One campaign, Smokefree Starts (website: https://smokefreestarts.co.uk/), is the first in the country. Its message is that smoking does not help people cope with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression but traps them in a stress cycle.
Sheffield director of public health Greg Fell congratulated Ms Hepworth on a “good news story”. He assured her that the funding for the work is secure.
“There’s zero chance that we won’t be doing comprehensive work on tobacco control in Sheffield – I don’t give a monkey’s about beyond Sheffield!” he added.
“I’ve long said to Sarah she can have a rest when we get to 5% prevalence but not till.”