Smokers urged to stub out habit as it costs Cornwall over £117m a year
That includes a £30m burden on our local NHS
Smokers are being urged to stub out the habit as it costs Cornwall over £117 million pounds a year.
That includes a burden of almost £30m on our local NHS.
It is estimated that there are over 60,000 smokers across the Duchy and a warning is going out on No Smoking Day (9th March).
Cornwall Council says smoking remains the leading cause of premature death in England with almost 75,000 preventable deaths a year.
Worryingly, a recent nationwide survey of 2,000 current smokers found that nearly half (45%) have been smoking more since the first lockdown began.
With life beginning to return to some kind of normality, people are being urged to have another shot at stubbing out their habit for good or help a family member, friend or colleague to quit.
Cllr Dr Andy Virr, Portfolio Holder for Adults and Public Health and an Emergency Department consultant at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, said:
“Almost every day I see the devastation that smoking causes to people’s lives and the lives of their families and loved ones.
“Stopping smoking is always beneficial to health and it is never too late to quit. The chances of success of any given quit attempt get higher the more times someone tries so why not use the support available and give it a go today?”
Ruth Goldstein, Deputy Director of Public Health at Cornwall Council, said:
“Quitting can be less stressful than you fear and can have a huge, positive impact on your life. There is a lot of support available and if you ditch the cigarettes, not only will you be able to lead a more active, longer life, you’ll also save a fortune.
“So why not join the thousands of others across the country who are stubbing out their habit?”
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), who is helping to co-ordinate this year’s No Smoking Day, said:
“No one should give up on giving up. Every time someone tries to stop smoking, they are a step closer to success. Like anything worth doing it can take practice to stop smoking – but there is lots of help out there."
Statistics from charity ASH suggest:
• There are around 63,010 adult smokers in Cornwall who puff their way through almost 530,000 cigarettes a day.
• The habit costs our communities a whopping £117.3m a year, including a £29.7m burden on the NHS.
• Loss of productivity due to smoking is also said to cost Cornwall’s economy around £74.3m a year, of which £27m is lost because of smoking breaks and £11.3m due to absenteeism.
• Besides the health benefits, data suggests that smokers who successfully stub out their habit stand to save around £2,000 a year.
• People in Cornwall spend a total of £84.7m on smoking every year, which is around £2,050 per person
• £10m a year is spent on smoking-related hospital admissions and £19.6m on treating smoking-related illnesses
• Research also suggests smokers are 14 times more likely to develop serious breathing issues if they catch Covid-19 and are also more likely to spread the virus, due to sharing lighters on cigarette breaks and touching their faces while smoking.
• Smokers who quit for 6 weeks or more are said to be happier and experience less anxiety and depression than those who carry on smoking.
• Research shows that people who have quit smoking for a year are happier than those who continue to smoke.
For support and information visit www.healthycornwall.org.uk/no-smoking-day22