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Stopping smoking: Halifax neighbours' road dubbed 'Quitters Street' after they all give up smoking together
With the support of Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale and Yorkshire Cancer Research, the residents have made improvements to their health by switching from smoking to vaping.
The neighbours, who all live in the Warley area, have also found a new lease of life, organising trips to places in Yorkshire they’ve never been to before and doing up their homes.
Clifford Byram-Leech, 68, who started smoking at just 11, said: “I had a partner for 23 years who died of cancer caused by cigarette smoking, and I saw what he went through.
"When he wasn’t very well, I gave up smoking for six months but when he died, I started smoking again because of the stress.
“This time, when I gave up for good, it was because my friends said I should do it and that it would be good for my health if I did.
"My neighbours pushed me into coming to the support service for peer support which was the best thing they could have done for me.
"I didn’t feel strong enough in myself to do it alone.”
Clifford joined his neighbours Sue Jackson and Lorna Morris in seeking support from Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale - a community stop smoking service commissioned by Calderdale Council.
The service, delivered by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and funded by Calderdale Council, provides a choice of group, telephone, or one-to-one support to quit smoking.
Source: Halifax Courier, 29 October 2023
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County council cabinet member Bill Borrett discusses impact of smoking ban on West Norfolk
A county council cabinet member has welcomed Government plans to create a “smoke-free generation” – but what will it mean for West Norfolk?
At the Conservative Party Conference earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced proposals to effectively ban smoking.
He aims to do this by raising the legal age to buy cigarettes year by year – meaning that a child currently aged 14 would never be allowed to smoke by law.
Now, Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, Cllr Bill Borrett, has backed these plans.
“Public Health welcomes the Government’s announcement to create a smoke-free generation and will be responding to the consultation that is currently open,” he told the Lynn News.
“It is important to remember that smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of ill-health and premature death, and is a modifiable behaviour.”
The most recent numbers available from the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual Population Survey show that in 2022, 16.7% of West Norfolk residents were smokers.
While that represents a significant decrease from 2021, when 19.3% of people said they smoked, it is still higher than 2020, when that number was as low as 14.4%. Currently, we are in the second-highest tier for smoking prevalence in the UK.
Cllr Borrett said: “Smoking impacts people throughout the whole life course: from maternal and foetal health in pregnant smokers; children exposed to smoke in the home; to cancers, respiratory conditions, and heart disease in mid-life, and dementia in old age.
“Smoking substantially increases risks to ill health, causes major disability, reduces quality of life and hastens death.
“The vast majority of smokers tell us they wish they’d never started, of which 80% of them started in their teenage years or childhood.”
Source: Lynn News, 28 October 2023
See also: DHSC - Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping: what you need to know
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South Korea: Smoking Down After Covid
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an overall improvement in public behaviour, including smoking, drinking, and the utilization of medical services. Physical activity has also rebounded after reaching its lowest point.
On Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released the results of an analysis of changes in the Community Health Survey conducted before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The smoking rate among adults decreased by 1.8 percentage points, dropping from 21.2 percent before the pandemic to 19.4 percent after. The smoking rate for men also saw a decrease of 3.8 percentage points, going from 39.6 percent to 35.8 percent during the same period.
Source: The Korea Bizwire, 27 October 2023
See also: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) - Current smoking rate gap trend by city and province, 2013-2022
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