£1.67m grant will help more smokers to kick the habit
A grant of more than £1.67million aims to help more smokers in Lancashire to quit.
Lancashire County Council has received an additional £1,673,989 from the Department of Health and Social Care to increase the number of referrals for smoking 'quitters' by enhancing the Smokefree Lancashire Service offer. The service has several priority areas such as prevention and early intervention, targeting children and young people to prevent uptake of smoking and vaping.
Smoking remains the biggest preventable cause of death and illness in England.
While the rates are reducing, national estimates indicate that more than one in eight Lancashire residents (13.4%) still smoke, compared to the England average of 12.7%.
There are approximately 132,000 smokers in Lancashire which is estimated to cost the area approximately £1.11bn per year, of which £397m is associated with social care costs, £45.1m with healthcare costs, £658m lost productivity and £8.1m in fire costs.
The report was discussed by councillors today (July 11). Councillors approved plans for the proposed budget to be spent in accordance with the grant guidance and the council's procurement rules.
The expenditure is fully grant-funded and there is no impact on the county council's base budget.
County Councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said:
"This additional £1.67million grant will enhance our Smokefree Lancashire service and help even more people to kick the habit for good.
"The single best action that an individual resident can take to improve their health is to stop smoking.
"Smoking is a huge cause of illness and deaths in the UK, so the sooner that smokers are able to beat the habit, the better.
"The Smokefree Lancashire service also tackles the issue at the start, with targeting messaging absolutely vital in helping to prevent children and young people from taking up smoking and vaping in the first place.
"This grant, which was announced before the general election, will allow even more of this absolutely vital work to be undertaken, reaching more people, as we continue towards our goal to become smokefree by 2030."
Notes to editors
There are significant differences in prevalence between Lancashire's districts ranging from Lancaster (20.4%) to Fylde (6.4%). Five of the other 12 districts in the county have higher rates than the England rate. The national average spend on tobacco is around £2,486 per smoker. Annually it is estimated £320m is spent by consumers purchasing tobacco (legal and illicit) annually in Lancashire.