Smoke-free in a generation – that’s the ambition of the Liverpool Tobacco Control Strategy that is officially launched today.
The strategy, which was approved by the council’s cabinet in June, now becomes the guiding document of the city’s ultimate aim of reducing the number of people who smoke in Liverpool to the point where the habit eventually becomes a thing of the past.
Setting out the city’s approach for the next six years, the strategy set out to tackle the issue on several fronts, from changing attitudes towards smoking to lobbying for legislative change, aiming to drive down the proportion of Liverpool smokers to just five per cent of the population by 2030 from the current level of just over 17 per cent.
The national UK average for people who smoke is 12.9 per cent.
Today, partners will join the city’s Public Health team at an action-planning event as they embark on the next stage on the journey towards a smokefree Liverpool.
The strategy states: “Liverpool will become a smokefree city allowing all our communities to live longer, healthier and wealthier lives in a city where they can play and work without exposure to the harms of tobacco smoke.”
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and illness in Liverpool, with two thirds of smokers dying from a smoking-related disease. Smoking also costs Liverpool £623m each year, including lost productivity (£416m), health and social care costs (£201.8m) and costs associated with smoking-related fires (£4.4m).
The strategy also extends current messaging on smoking to include vaping which is particularly aimed at young people. The message is clear: if you don’t vape, don’t start.
The strategy also covers wider ambitions such as creating more smokefree places and robust enforcement around illicit tobacco and nicotine products and selling products to minors.
Cllr Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, said: “We make no apologies for aiming towards the highest ambition with this strategy – to make smoking obsolete in Liverpool.
“There is no ambiguity around the evidence against smoking. The effect of tobacco on health is devastating, not only on smokers and their families, but on the NHS and social care services. Because of this, our strategy will tackle smoking from all sides – from supporting long-term smokers to kick the habit to ensuring that messaging to young people means that they will never start.
“I am also very pleased that the strategy will guide our work on vaping. Whilst vaping is safer than smoking and is cheaper, there is not enough evidence on its long-term effects which makes the increase in young people vaping a concern. Our message on vaping is clear – if you don’t vape, don’t start.”
