The NHS and partner organisations across Lincolnshire are urging all active smokers in the county to ditch the habit for good this No Smoking Day,13 March.
Each year, No Smoking Day puts the negative health effects of lighting up directly under the microscope and asks smokers to consider giving up for good.
In England, in 2022, 12.7% of people aged 18 years and over were ‘current’ cigarette smokers, which equates to around 6.5 million people in the population. This is down by 0.6% from 2021 data, the lowest proportion of current smokers since records began in 2011 (based on estimates from the Annual Population Survey).
In contrast, the numbers of smokers in the East Midlands region has increased by 0.6%, up to 14%; and as a region is the highest for numbers of smokers over this time period.
In Lincolnshire we have a smoking prevalence rate of 16% which has seen an increase of 2.7% from 2021 data.
When we compare local authority figures for the districts, the majority have also seen an increase. Lincoln and Boston are estimated to have the highest percentages across the whole of the East Midlands. Only Mid Devon in the South West region and Hastings in the South East region have higher rates across the entire country.
However, in South Holland there has been a reduction of smokers by 2.4%, and in North Kesteven they saw a decrease by 7.7%.
Dr Sunil Hindocha, GP and Interim Medical Director for the ICB, said:
“Smoking is extremely harmful to our health.
“It is the biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK, and can lead to the disease developing in parts of the body other than just the lungs and throat.
“Cigarettes also cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, and greatly increase the chances of dementia.
“Stopping smoking is one of the best things people can do for their health and, as we approach No Smoking Day, I hope many will take this opportunity to quit.”
The local NHS continues to see hundreds of people diagnosed with lung cancer, which is one of the most common health-related consequence of cigarette use.
Quitting for good will help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and other long-term conditions.
Help and advice on how to stop smoking is available online via the NHS website and more information on local authority services is available through One You Lincolnshire, at: https://www.oneyoulincolnshire.org.uk.