Tobacco Control Strategy

Compared to other council areas in the North West, Cheshire West and Chester performs well on key smoking indicators. Overall adult smoking rates are one of the lowest in the region at 8.9 per cent, approximately 25,700 adults. However, this rate is not uniform across Cheshire West and Chester. For example:

• Smoking prevalence is highest in Blacon, Ellesmere Port and Winsford amongst people living on low incomes
• More than 9.4 per cent of women smoke throughout pregnancy (2022/2023 figures)
• 5 per cent of 15-year-olds are already regular smokers (2018 figures)
• In 2023 20.5 per cent of children had tried vaping, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022 and 13.9 per cent in 2020(6).
• Smoking prevalence in adults within routine and manual occupation (18-64) (current smokers) is 19.6 per cent (2022 figures)(7) (8).

With these figures in mind, it is clear that strategic action on tobacco dependence is necessary to advance the aims of Cheshire West and Chester’s Place Plan 2019-2024 and this Health and Wellbeing Strategy. More widely smoking cessation is seen as a key tool within the Core20PLUS5 programme and the NHS Long Term Plan.

Costs

Smoking is harmful and costly (9). There is the human cost of illness, fires, premature death and poverty, the cost to our health and social care services and the environmental costs from littering. The headlines below clearly illustrate the economic consequences of local smoking within Cheshire West and Chester.

• Smokers in CW&C spend roughly £79.6 million on tobacco products each year
• The total annual cost of smoking to the NHS across CW&C is about £7.0 million
• 129.2 million of potential wealth is lost from the local economy in CW&C each year as a result of lost productivity due to smoking
• Many current/formers smokers require care in later life as a result of smoking-related illnesses. Each year this costs society in CW&C an additional £65.6 million

• It is estimated that Cheshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority will attend approximately 7 smoking relate house fires each year in CW&C costing an estimated £1.2 million

What are we currently doing

• Brio Leisure CIC operate the smoking cessation service on behalf of the council. The service is open to all residents aged 12 and over either living or registered with a GP within Cheshire West and Chester. Residents can either self-refer into the service or be referred via their GP or health care professional
• The Tobacco Control Forum – The Cheshire and Merseyside partners, including Public Health teams, NHS trusts, pharmacies, and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) are working to share best practice across the region supporting the implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan
• Smoking in Pregnancy – Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Partnership have worked with the acute hospital trusts, local authorities, and local smoking cessation services to implement the maternity pathway contained within the NHS Long Term Plan. An in-house smoking cessation service for pregnant women has been developed providing consistent support throughout and beyond their pregnancy
• Smoking in Pregnancy – maternity services are screening all pregnant women for carbon monoxide via CO monitors at all antenatal appointments. Delivering advice and making referrals into the in-house smoking cessation service at every opportunity
• Cheshire Smoke Free Working Group – focussing on local problems and local solutions, such as working with trading standards around illicit sales

Climate Change

A recent review into Tobacco and the Environment by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) looked at the global picture with regards to tobacco production and its impact on our climate as well as our health. It concluded that tobacco cultivation was not sustainable due to its harmful impacts including pollution, soil degradation and deforestation. These all contribute to adverse climate change and biodiversity losses.

Studies have also shown that high levels of natural resources are required in the cultivation, drying, manufacturing, packaging, and transportation of tobacco-based products.

The research into the adverse effects of the tobacco industry both locally, nationally and globally show the importance of strategies aimed at dissuading the uptake of smoking and reducing tobacco consumption levels (10).

In recent years the growth of people using vapes has increased significantly especially the use of disposable vapes. Disposable vapes are a hazard for waste and litter collection and can cause fires in bin lorries. They are also difficult to recycle as they contain a variety of components, making them logistically difficult, labour intensive and expensive to recycle (11).

In 2023 several organisations including the Local Government Association (LGA), The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) and over 30 local authorities, including Cheshire West and Chester, called for a ban on disposable vapes.

In January 2024 the government announced that it would ban disposable vapes in the UK as part of the plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health. This policy will also help to protect the natural resources used in the manufacture of vapes, reducing littering and the potential for fires in bin lorries (12).