Impacts of smoking cost county £150 million
SMOKING costs Cornwall over £150 million a year on average, with 47,950 adults believed to be regular smokers.
The stark figures were announced as Cornwall Council committed to the Government's ambition for England to be smokefree by 2030.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) estimates that smoking cost Cornwall £151.2m in 2022/23 through lost productivity (£118.3m), the cost of providing healthcare (£17.3m) and social care (£12.3m), and the cost of smoking-related fires (£3.3m). It is estimated that 10.3 per cent of the Cornish population smokes.
The council's Conservative Cabinet this week welcomed new legislation to raise the age of the sale of tobacco, restrict children and young people's access to vapes and introduce new fixed penalty notices of £100 for selling tobacco and e-cigarettes to underage young people. Existing legislation is to be amended to introduce a ban on disposable vapes.
Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, portfolio holder for children and families, admitted she used to smoke behind the bike sheds from the age of 11. “Back in the 1960s smoking was considered cool – it was an acceptable thing. Times have moved on. I am extremely pleased as an ex-smoker, but also as somebody who has lived with someone who suffered from the consequences of smoking, to second this recommendation.
“One of the things we must do is protect babies and children from secondhand smoking.
“I'm pleased to see vaping is included in this report because one of the biggest problems for our young people is perhaps they are in the same place that I was 60-odd years ago when smoking was considered to be a good thing. Our young people seem to think that vaping is both cool and also doesn't do them any harm.”
Since it was launched in 2013, over 120 councils across the country have signed the local authority declaration on tobacco control, including Cornwall Council in 2019.
The declaration was updated in 2022 to reflect changes in government policy.
This week's recommendation, which was resolutely supported, asked members of the Cabinet to commit the council to sign the updated declaration and renew their commitment to the tobacco control agenda.
Locally, the work programme is coordinated by the Smokefree Cornwall Alliance which has responsibility for agreeing and overseeing the implementation of a strategy and associated action plans to ensure smoking is wiped out in Cornwall. The alliance is chaired by Ruth Goldstein, assistant director of public health, and reports annually to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Joint Health and Wellbeing Board.
Back in the 1960s smoking was considered cool – an acceptable thing. Times have moved on CLLR BARBARA ELLENBROEK