Tobacco Free Cardiff

Smoking is well known to be the single biggest avoidable cause of disease and early death in Wales. It kills around 114,000 people in the UK every year (Peto et al, 2003). Most die from one of the three main diseases associated with cigarette smoking i.e. cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease (bronchitis and emphysema) and coronary heart disease. Smoking in pregnancy is linked to spontaneous abortion, pre-term birth, low birth weight and stillbirth (Royal College of Physicians of London, 2002). Smoking has also been identified as the primary reason for the gap in healthy life expectancy between rich and poor. According to the 2003/5 Welsh Health Survey, more than a quarter (27.1 per cent) of adults across Wales reported being smokers, with the proportion in Cardiff just above the Welsh average.

A key recent development in tobacco control has been the introduction in April 2007 of comprehensive legislation prohibiting smoking in enclosed workplaces, public places, and transport and work vehicles. A programme of education and enforcement activity has ensured high levels of compliance in all sectors, particularly the licensed trade.

Other policy developments include the increase in the legal age for sale of tobacco products from 16 to 18, introduced in October 2007, and forthcoming requirements for graphic images of health effects on all tobacco products.

For several years a partnership approach to tobacco control has been taken in Cardiff, currently led by the Tobacco Free Cardiff Partnership. This group co-ordinates the tobacco control work of Health Alliance partners. The group is made up of a wide number of partners, to ensure an integrated approach across the city.

The Tobacco Free Cardiff Strategy has recently been reviewed and updated, covering the period 2008-2011. The Tobacco Free Cardiff Strategy focuses on three distinct areas of activity - prevention, cessation and protection.

 

Key Achievements 2005 - 2008

Prevention
- including work in schools and with young people, such as Smokebugs (primary schools) and the ASSIST programme (selected secondary schools, including several in deprived areas of Cardiff).
Cessation
- BIG Lottery funded projects were implemented from 2005-2007, including the 2Tuff2Puff programme, providing adolescent smoking cessation support, the development of successful models for cessation with the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in Cardiff and support to businesses.
Protection
- smoke-free public places have successfully been introduced, and advice and guidance has been developed for premises with specific exemptions from the legislation, such as hotels and care homes.

 

Priorities and Key Strategic Aims 2008 - 2011

Promote a supportive smoke free environment and reduce smoking prevalence within Cardiff

  1. To prevent people from starting smoking, particularly children and young people, by minimising exposure to factors which are likely to contribute to the initiation of smoking.
  2. To reduce health inequalities by reducing the exposure of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society in Cardiff to the harmful effects of environmental tobacco smoke.
  3. To increase numbers of people accessing specialist smoking cessation services, especially those from lower socio-economic groups, pregnant women, BME groups, and adolescents.
  4. To ensure effective regulatory enforcement measures are implemented and maintained in relation to tobacco control (including age of sale, smoke free public places, advertising and promotion of tobacco, and smuggling).

 

Partners on the Tobacco Free Cardiff Partnership

 

Documents

 

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