Lowest smoking figures for Bucks
1 November 2010
The new Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England were published this week by the Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO), which highlighted Buckinghamshire as having the lowest prevalence of smokers in the country.
The Chiltern area was highlighted as having the lowest prevalence of smokers in England (only 10.2% compared to 35.2% in Blackpool in the North West), closely followed by South Bucks, according to the APHO (see attached chart). The percentage of women who reported smoking during pregnancy is the lowest in the south east of England across the local authority areas of Chiltern, South Bucks, Wycombe, and Aylesbury Vale.
In addition, the Chiltern area has the lowest death rates from smoking and South Bucks has the lowest death rates from strokes attributed to smoking, compared to the rest of the south east. Wycombe and the Chiltern area have the lowest death rates from lung cancer nationally.
Val Mills, leader of the Bucks Smokefree Support Service, said: “We are delighted with these fantastic results, which highlights the effort and success of our smoking cessation service across Buckinghamshire.
“However, despite this positive news, smoking continues to damage people’s health and remains a major cause of ill health and death – not to mention the sizeable cost burden to the NHS. We are therefore committed to continue our focus on helping smokers in Buckinghamshire quit their tobacco use”.
The APHO profiles bring together, for the first time, a detailed picture of the burden of smoking-related disease, costs and action for every local authority and health trust in England.
Indicators showing how well local agencies are tackling the problem can be compared across regions, and local areas. The profiles were commissioned by the Department of Health and led by the London Health Observatory (LHO) on behalf of APHO.
Key findings from the profiles for the South East region show:
• The region has a lower rate of smoking-attributable deaths than the national average, but smoking remains the biggest contributor to overall death rates. Hastings, Portsmouth, Medway have the highest rates, whilst Chiltern, Elmbridge, and Waverley have the lowest.
• Deaths from lung cancer stand at over 30 deaths per 100,000 population. Hastings records the highest rate (47 deaths per 100,000), with Guildford, Wycombe and Chiltern recording the lowest rates in the region and England (21.6 (Wycombe) deaths per 100,000).
• There were over 1000 admissions per 100,000 population for smoking-attributable illnesses in the region in 2008-09 at an approximate cost of over £142 million (£30 per adult) to the NHS.
• A number of areas have smoking prevalence levels that are significantly worse than the national average – Brighton and Hove, Crawley and Portsmouth record the highest smoking rates, whilst Chiltern and South Bucks had the lowest prevalence of smokers in England.
Research has shown that smokers who quit with NHS support are up to four times more likely to succeed. Quitting is not easy and it can take some smokers several attempts to stop smoking for good. Anyone planning to quit should call the Bucks Smokefree Support Service on 0845 270 7222, email stopsmoking@buckspct.nhs.uk or visit the website at www.smokescape.org, to find out about the range of free NHS support available.
ENDS
About Bucks Smokefree Support Service
Bucks Smokefree Support Service (BSSS) is a free NHS service which provides free advice, information and support to local Bucks residents who are thinking of or want to stop smoking. Smokers are up to four times more likely to stop smoking with support from an NHS Stop Smoking Adviser, combined with Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) or Zyban. BSSS offers its clients tailored support to meet their needs and lifestyles, including one-to-one or group support for up to six weeks and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (patches, gum etc) available at prescription cost or free if clients are exempt. BSSS has the best expertise to support smokers through the process of quitting with experienced, friendly and committed NHS Stop Smoking Advisers. BSSS support is available at a wide range of locations throughout Buckinghamshire such as pharmacies, hospitals and GP surgeries.
Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England are an accessible web-based tool. They are available at: http://www.lho.org.uk/LHO_Topics/Analytic_Tools/Tobaccocontrolprofiles.aspx.
Notes to editors:
• Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust provide a wide range of high quality acute and community services from three acute hospital sites in Amersham, Stoke Mandeville and Wycombe, five community hospitals at Thame, Marlow, Buckingham, Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross and Waterside, and a number of community sites across the county. Details of these can be found here: http://www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/For%20patients%20and%20visitors/hospitals-and-community-facilities.htm
• Specialist services include our regional dermatology, allergy and skin cancer centre, burns care and plastics sub-regional centre, cardiac services and the National Spinal Injuries Centre
• More than 6,000 staff serve residents across Buckinghamshire, Thame (Oxfordshire), Tring (Hertfordshire) and Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) - a combined population of 500,000. It serves a much larger population, 1.5m, for burns and plastic services and 14m for spinal injuries
For further information, contact the communications team on 01494 734959 or at communications@buckshosp.nhs.uk.
Going the extra mile awards- nominate someone today!
Become an NHS Foundation Trust member now!
Listening to your views
Want to know more?
How about a more detailed guide about each hospital
