Blackpool Council Annual Health Report 2019 Blackpool Council Annual Health Report PAGES | Page 33

THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE OF BLACKPOOL
2018 HEALTHY BEGINNINGS FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE
The harms to health from tobacco are well known; smoking is the
leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in England.
It is an addiction that is most commonly acquired in adolescence –
in England in 2014, 77% of smokers aged 16 to 24 began smoking
before the age of 18 19 .
Teens who smoke experience short-term health consequences,
such as shortness of breath, three times as often as those who do
not smoke.
TOBACCO, ALCOHOL
AND SUBSTANCE MISUSE
Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by
the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to
smoke throughout adulthood. Early signs of heart disease and stroke
can be found in adolescents who smoke and there is an increased risk
of lung cancer in those who start smoking early. For most smoking-
related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke.
There is also a threefold increase in alcohol use in smokers compared
to non-smoking teens. They area also eight times more likely to use
marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine 20 .
The latest statistics on smoking in adolescence from 2014/2015
indicate that 13.4% of 15 year olds in Blackpool were current
smokers at the time compared to 8.2% nationally (11% regular
smokers in Blackpool versus 5.5% in England) and 33.9% of Blackpool
respondents had tried e-cigarettes or vaping (18.4% in England).
A more recent survey is due to be published in 2019 and will be
available at http://digital.nhs.uk/pubs/sdd18.
As the evidence for what works to reduce smoking uptake and
tobacco use in young people is limited 21 , in 2018 Blackpool launched
a pilot programme to engage with schools and other settings to
engage young people and co-design a service tailored to them, with
the appointment of a Children and Young People’s Stop Smoking
Advisor. The pilot will enable us to understand the most effective way
to support young people to stop smoking and assess the demand for
such a service, to enable us to shape future provision.
19. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-a-smoke-free-generation-tobacco-control-plan-for-england
20. https://www.who.int/tobacco/research/youth/health_effects/en/
21. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003289.pub6/abstract
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