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 Tobacco
Action Plan
Below is an executive summary of the Five Year Tobacco Action Plan
for Northern Ireland. To view the full document, visit the Department
of Health, Social Services and Public Safety web site at www.dhsspsni.gov.uk.
A Five Year Tobacco Action Plan (NI) - Executive Summary
Why we need this Action Plan?
Smoking claims between 2,700 and 3,000 lives here each year. It
is the single greatest preventable cause of premature death and
avoidable illness. It also harms people who do not smoke and babies
in the womb.
Smoking is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, strokes
and other illnesses of the circulatory system, which kill two in
every five men and women here. These diseases are also important
causes of disability. A lifetime non-smoker is 60% less likely than
a current smoker to have coronary heart disease and 30% less likely
to suffer a stroke.
Aim of the Plan
The overall aim is to create a tobacco-free society.
The key objectives are:
- Preventing people from starting to smoke;
- Helping smokers to quit; and
- Protecting non-smokers from tobacco smoke.
Improving the health of all our people and reducing health inequalities
is a key element of the Programme for Government and is the main
aim of the Investing for Health Strategy. The factors that can cause
poor health and inequalities are complex. Smoking, more than any
other identifiable factor, contributes to the gap in life expectancy
between those in most need and those most advantaged. Therefore,
it will be particularly important to target the socially disadvantaged.
Although the Plan is aimed at the population as a whole, three
target groups have been identified:
- Children and young people;
- Disadvantaged adults who smoke; and
- Pregnant women who smoke.
Prevention
Preventing people, particularly children and young people, from
starting to use tobacco will require a range of measures in four
key areas:-
- Raising awareness about the effects of tobacco smoke on smokers’
and non smokers’ health through : -
- Public information; and
- Education
- Banning the advertising and promotion of tobacco products;
- Enforcing existing legislation on sales of tobacco to children;
and
- The widespread adoption of smoke-free policies in workplaces
and places frequented by the general public.
Helping Smokers to Quit
Two-thirds of smokers say that they want to quit yet, despite increasing
publicity about smoking related ill-health, many continue to smoke.
Of the two-thirds who want to stop smoking, about one-third will
try to stop in any one year. Given that, it is not easy to stop
because nicotine is highly addictive and repeated attempts may be
required before total abstinence is achieved.
Professional advice and support are essential to help smokers
quit. Without such help, only 2% of middle-aged smokers are successful
each year. In particular, young people, disadvantaged adults and
pregnant women will require a range of services tailored to meet
their specific needs. The needs of other disadvantaged groups, such
as those from an ethnic minority background or with a disability,
also need to be addressed. Cessation methods used with the general
adult population should be modified as necessary with the aim of
meeting such needs.
The range of effective interventions available to motivate and
support those attempting to quit includes:-
- Local and regional campaigns;
- Brief advice delivered by health and social care professionals
including doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists, as well as
by allied health professionals;
- Specialist services offering advice and intensive support;
and
- Other support, such as telephone helplines, self-help manuals,
pharmaceutical industry.
Protecting non-smokers from tobacco smoke
Nicotine is highly addictive and it will take many years to achieve
the overall aim of a tobacco-free society. In the meantime, the
protection of the general public, particularly children, from tobacco
smoke must remain a key element of any tobacco control policy. This
requires partnership working and measures to promote smoke-free
environments.
Tobacco smoke is a particular issue in the workplace as it can
aggravate certain diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis
and can cause discomfort to the eyes, nose, throat and chest.
It is recognised that there may be particular issues to be addressed
in introducing smoking bans in hotels, pubs and other places of
entertainment. Nevertheless, the wishes of the customers (and employees)
who do not smoke should be respected. The introduction of no smoking
policies in some public places is a welcome development but needs
to become standard practice.
Occupational health services in both the private and statutory
sectors have an important role to play in promoting a non-smoking
environment. A key indicator of progress towards the ultimate goal
of a tobacco-free society will be widespread acceptance that the
provision of facilities for smokers can only be viewed as a short-term
measure leading ultimately to smoke-free premises.
Action
Prevention
- Further development of public information campaigns
- CCEA Curriculum Review to highlight the need to promote awareness
of the dangers of smoking
- Legislation banning tobacco advertising
- Local Councils to pursue a pro-active approach to enforcement
activity
Support
- To promote the provision of smoking cessation services in a
variety of settings
- To further develop sustainable specialist smoking cessation
services
- To promote training and support in smoking cessation
Protection
- To promote the widespread adoption of no smoking policies in
the workplace
- To finalise proposals for an Approved Code of Practice on Passive
Smoking at Work
Downloadable MS WORD documents
The Northern Board Tobacco Action Plan, which is developed in response
to the NI Plan, can be viewed below.
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