View this email in your browser ([link removed])


** 5 May 2020
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


** Thousands of people in the North-East have quit smoking or tried to because of Covid-19 (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Yorkshire: Surge in motivation to quit smoking (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Liverpool: Coronavirus death rate nearly twice the national average due to widespread respiratory conditions (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------


** PHE to review how ethnicity affects vulnerability to coronavirus (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------


** Robert West: BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast (#5)
------------------------------------------------------------


** UK
------------------------------------------------------------


**

Nearly 27,000 smokers in the North-East have tried to quit because of Covid-19, while a further 120,000 people have cut down according to new research. The figures are based on findings from the UK arm of YouGov’s international Covid Tracker and come as evidence is showing that smokers in hospital who have coronavirus are at a higher risk than non-smokers of severe illness.

This week the #QuitforCOVID campaign is being shared by the Smokefree Action Coalition, including Fresh and respiratory clinicians. Fresh has also launched a new radio and online campaign running in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to highlight the risks and the benefits of quitting to health.

Professor Eugene Milne, Director of Public Health for Newcastle and lead Director of Public Health for tobacco in the North-East, said: “This is a worrying time for everyone, and we are all looking for ways to minimise our risk. As well as hand washing and social distancing, quitting smoking is one very important and positive step for anyone who smokes. You would be hard pressed to find any family in the North-East that doesn’t have one family member who has been affected by smoking. Historically we have had higher rates of smoking and even though rates have nearly halved since 2005, smoking still causes over 5000 deaths a year in the North East. It’s vital that we keep a focus on reducing smoking and clearly communicate the many reasons to give quitting a go. It is never too late, you’re never too old, and there are immediate benefits”.

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: “There has possibly never been a more important time to quit smoking than right now. Covid-19 is focusing everyone’s minds on staying healthy and for people who smoke, quitting is an incredibly important step. We are launching this campaign because smoking has emerged very clearly from doctors and from studies around the world as causing worse complications from coronavirus. This must be worrying news for smokers, but it is something that everyone has a right to know. We are encouraging anyone who smokes to give quitting a go now – even if you’ve tried before, it is never too late to try to quit and stopping brings benefits at any age.”

Source: The Northern Echo, 4 May 2020

See also
The Mirror: ‘More than 300,000 Brits have quit smoking during COVID-19 crisis’ ([link removed])
The Sun: ‘More than 300,000 Brits quit smoking amid coronavirus fears, study shows’ ([link removed])


------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


**

One Yorkshire stop smoking service has seen visits to its website increase by 130% as experts say there has “never been a better time to quit”. An estimated 550,000 Britons have tried to quit, while 2.4 million have cut down, according to the UK arm of YouGov's international Covid-19 tracker and charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

Around 17% of people in Yorkshire smoke, and smoking kills around 8,900 people in the region every year. Following the lockdown in March, Sheffield Stop Smoking Service saw 53% more smokers accessing the service compared to the year before.

Sarah Hepworth, Tobacco Control Lead at Sheffield City Council said the demand continued in April, and it has increased the number of telephone clinics it provides in response to demand. She said: “Many smokers have told our advisors they are worried and want to quit because of COVID-19. In addition, the Smokefree Sheffield website has had over 1,878 people visit it during April, seeking information on smoking, with the most viewed page being our ‘Quit for Covid’ page. Compared to the same time last year this is 130% increase in visitors to the site.”

Public Health England’s regional director and NHS director of public health North East and Yorkshire, Professor Peter Kelly, said: “Quitting smoking now will bring immediate benefits to your health, reducing the risk of heart and lung problems for you and those around you. That’s good news for smokers and good news for our NHS.”

Source: The Yorkshire Post, 4 May 2020

See also
Smokefree Sheffield: ‘Sheffield City Council’s approach to tobacco control during the COVID-19 crisis’ ([link removed])

------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


**

Council leaders have been looking into the possibility that the Champions League quarter final match led to a spike in coronavirus cases in Liverpool, but according to public health leaders, the number of lives lost is more likely to be linked to an underlying public health crisis already in the most deprived parts of the city, with higher than average rates of smoking, lung disease and obesity and lower life expectancy.

Nearly a quarter of people who go to hospital with coronavirus in Liverpool hospitals – 22% - have died, compared to a case fatality rate across all UK hospitals of 13%. The startling death toll amplifies figures released by the Office for National Statistics last week showing that mortality rates from Covid-19 in the country’s most deprived areas are double those in more affluent locations.

A public health source said that underlying health problems gave those with coronavirus a significantly worse fighting chance compared to healthier patients. The death rate from respiratory disease in Liverpool is 42% higher than the national rate, even before the coronavirus outbreak. Higher incidence of respiratory disease accounts for 19% of the gap in life expectancy between Liverpool and the England average for men and 24% of the gap for women.

Life expectancy in Kirkdale ward, one of the more deprived areas of Liverpool, is 74 compared to 84.6 years in the more affluent Church ward. In terms of “healthy” life expectancy - the number of years people on average enjoy good health - is just 59 in Kirkdale ward.

Labour councillor Paul Brant, Cabinet member for health and social care at Liverpool city council, said the “significantly higher” mortality figures in the city were “almost certainly reflecting the poorer health of the local population”. He added: “The unprecedented Government cuts to Liverpool’s public health funding and the wider Council budget are totally counterproductive. Areas like Liverpool have the greatest need for investment in health - we should be getting the biggest boost not the biggest cuts.”

Source: i News, 4 May 2020

------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


**

Public Health England (PHE) has said that thousands of health records of people who have had Covid-19 will be examined to establish more “robust” data on what can have an impact on the number of cases and health outcomes for different groups within the population.

The review aims to better understand how factors such as ethnicity, deprivation, age, gender and obesity could impact on how people are affected by coronavirus, PHE added.

It will be led by Prof Kevin Fenton, PHE public health director for London, who said: “Detailed and careful work is being done so that we can better understand this and explore the possible reasons for any disparities.

Source: The Guardian, 4 May 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])


**

Prof Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, has appeared on Radio 5 Live to speak about the best ways of quitting for COVID. He said: “The key is to keep trying, no matter how many times you’ve tried in the past. It really is like rolling dice because there’s such a lot of luck involved in it. All of the evidence is telling us that it really doesn’t matter how many times you’ve tried before; it makes no difference to your chances of success this time.”

Source: BBC Sounds, 5 May 2020

------------------------------------------------------------
Listen ([link removed])
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here. ([link removed])

For more information call 020 7404 0242, email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk

ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.

============================================================
Our mailing address is:
Action on Smoking and Health
6th Floor New House
Hatton Garden
London
EC1N 8JY

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])