Fresh North East reminisces on 19 years since smoking ban inside public places
Today's also six months until the Tobacco and Vapes Act comes into force
Today marks 19 years since smoking inside public places was made illegal.
It's also six months until the Tobacco and Vapes Act comes into force.
Introduced on 1st July 2007, Fresh North East says the hugely popular smokefree law has protected millions from the harms of second-hand smoke, improved safety for workers, and prompted many smokers to try quitting.
Fresh added it's has also contributed to thousands of fewer hospital admissions for heart attacks, and reduced childhood asthma admissions as awareness of the risks of secondhand smoke in homes and cars has grown.
The region's tobacco control programme says despite this progress, tobacco is still the leading cause of preventable illness and death, killing over 74,000 people in England each year.
Two out of every three lifelong smokers will die early due to completely avoidable smoking related causes. Because of this, from 1st January 2027, the Smokefree Generation policy will ensure that anyone born on or after 1st January 2009 can never legally be sold tobacco products.
Latest figures for the North East show strong public support to reduce the death and disease of smoking:
• 68% of adults in the North East support a goal to make Britain a country where noone smokes.
• Only 10% believe the Government is doing too much to limit smoking. 46% believe the Government is not doing enough.
• 90% support requiring businesses to hold a valid license to sell tobacco – which can be removed if they are caught more than once for underage sales.
• 78% support a levy placed on the profits of tobacco manufacturers for measures to help smokers quit and prevent young people from taking up smoking.
In the North East, overall smoking rates have fallen significantly from 29% in 2005 to 10.2% of adults smoking in 2024. Rates of smoking in pregnancy have also reached a record low, with just 5% of women now smoking at the time of delivery in the North East and North Cumbria. This has demonstrated how much the region has changed and the social norms around smoking shifted with the North East seeing the biggest drop in smoking of any region in England over this time.
The Smokefree Generation law is expected to protect up to 4 million young people across Great Britain from preventing them from being sold lethal tobacco products within the next five years, sparing them from a lifetime of addiction. This number could increase to 6 million, if more people who currently smoke are also helped with support to quit.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Here in the North East, most families have seen a loved one affected by smoking-related disease, which is why support for reducing the harm caused by tobacco is so strong. Nobody who starts smoking expects to smoke for life.
“We have made significant progress in reducing tobacco harm, protecting children and workers, and supporting hundreds of thousands of people to quit. Now we are counting down to the first smokefree generation, helping to stop young people becoming trapped by tobacco addiction in the first place.”
She added: “Tobacco continues to cause harm every day - damaging lives and families, putting pressure on health services and widening health inequalities. We have made great progress, but there is still much to be done, and we are at the cusp of being able to make smoking a thing of the past in the not-too-distant future.
Former pub landlady 61 year-old Cathy Hunt is a mum of four from County Durham. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2015 and ended up with half of her lung removed. Cathy has also written a blog about why she supports the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which received Royal Assent earlier this year.
She said: “To my regret I continued smoking after the Smokefree law came in – even though I was a ‘serial quitter’ and tried to stop many times. Working in pubs, the temptation was always there. Picking up cigarette butts from the floor and cleaning out ashtrays was an awful job, whether you smoked or not.
“The law raised awareness of the toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke, and for many people it was an opportunity to cut down or quit. It protected thousands of members of staff from breathing in that smoke – and also protected children in the restaurant areas of pubs where smoke used to drift into.
“Anyone who has watched a loved one struggle to quit knows the truth: tobacco addiction strips away freedom. It keeps people trapped for decades, and then hands the bill to families, communities, and the taxpayer.”
She said: “Just like Smokefree law, raising the age of sale for tobacco under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will change health for the better. I’m glad that my grandchildren won’t be able to legally be sold cigarettes when they reach the age of 18. There’s nothing else on shop shelves that kills 2 in 3 lifelong customers, and this is about giving the next generation a better chance.”
Dr Ruth Sharrock is a Respiratory Consultant at Gateshead Health NHS FT, Clinical Lead for the Smokefree NHS Taskforce for the North East and North Cumbria ICB and Clinical Lead for Lung Cancer and Health Inequalities for the Northern Cancer Alliance.
She said: “The Smokefree law had a profound impact on the health of the nation, almost immediately reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease. But despite this, every week I still have to tell patients that they have lung cancer, or severe COPD. The majority of these diseases have been caused by smoking. Tobacco dependence is still robbing people of healthy aging and time with their families every day.
“Nobody wants our children to become the next generation of adults with smoking-related illnesses on our hospital wards. This is our chance to enable today’s children to have a life without the addiction, cost and diseases caused by tobacco.”
The North East has a Declaration for a Smokefree Future to end the death and disease of tobacco, which is supported by local authorities, NHS Trusts and the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board
For more information, visit the Fresh North East website.