Smoking remains the single biggest preventable cause of ill-health in UK (Ref: ASH (2014) ASH factsheet 2: Smoking Statistics, illness and death. http://ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_107.pdf).
Within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 25% of the population are currently smokers and men are more likely to smoke than women.
In 2013, the Scottish Government launched their new tobacco strategy for Scotland, ‘Creating a Tobacco-Free Generation’ with the aspiration of achieving smoking rates of 5% or lower amongst adults in Scotland.
In response, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde tobacco control activity and “Quit your way” service adopts a wide approach to tackle the harm caused by tobacco. Supporting people to stop smoking is the most well known tobacco control measure. However, actions to prevent young people from starting to smoke and protecting people from the harm associated with secondhand smoke are just as important.
Tobacco control brings together the broad themes of Prevention, Protection and Stop Smoking and requires strong partnerships with public, private and voluntary groups to influence smoking culture and reduce smoking rates.
To find out more about what our services can offer call the Quit Your Way service on 0800 916 8858 or visit: