Welsh charity gets cash boost to tighten screws on smokers

MORE than £400,000 is being given to a leading charity in a bid to further reduce the number of adults smoking in Wales.

Public Health Minister Rebecca Evans confirmed that ASH Wales will be offered a £417,000 cash injection over three years to help the Welsh Government deliver its Tobacco Control Action Plan.

The plan aims to reduce the prevalence of adult smoking to 16% by 2020.

Sunday marked 10 years since groundbreaking legislation banning smoking in enclosed public places came into force across Wales.

Since then, smoking rates among adults and teenagers have reduced “drastically” and are now at a record low.

Figures show that in 2007, 24% of adults in Wales smoked but that now stands at 19% – more than 94,000 fewer smokers.

When it comes to teenagers, smoking rates have reduced by 6% for boys and 14% for girls.

There has also been a huge decrease in the numbers of those who smoke in the home, dropping from 80% to 46% since the ban’s implementation.

ASH Wales says this suggests a better awareness of the dangers of second-hand smoke, especially around children and families.

Chief executive of tobacco control campaign charity ASH Wales Suzanne Cass said: “The smoking ban has resulted in the most positive improvement in the nation’s health in decades.

“The significance of this legislation should not be underestimated.

“Thousands more children now live in a smoke-free home and hundreds of thousands of people are no longer subjected to the deadly effects of passive smoking.

“There is clear evidence smokers no longer feel as comfortable smoking around others – the number of people smoking in their own home has almost halved since the ban came into place.

“It is fantastic to see the message about the dangers of smoking, especially around children, is being heard.”

The hidden threat from secondhand smoke, especially for workers in the leisure industry like pubs and clubs, was cited as one of the major reasons for introducing the indoor smoking ban.

And a YouGov poll showed there continues to be strong support for the smoking ban in Wales – with 81% of people in support of the legislation.

Three-quarters of smokers are in favour of the ban.

But despite the success, ASH Wales believes there are still more changes that need to be made.

Suzanne added: “Smoking rates have dropped for most of the population except among the unemployed, where they’ve in fact increased from 41% to 43%.”

Rebecca Evans marked the anniversary by visiting Malpas Court Primary School in Newport.

The school has recently achieved the National Quality Award as part of the Welsh Network of Healthy School Schemes (WNHSS) and is the 130th school in Wales to do so.

Pupils talked to the minister about smoking and shared their thoughts on what a smoke-free Wales means to them.

The minister said: “The ban on smoking in indoor public places has been a huge success.

“The percentage of adults smoking is now at a record low. This will improve people’s health and life expectancy, and will reduce pressures on the NHS.

“It also means that future generations are protected from the effects of smoking and do not grow up seeing it as a normal activity.

“We are continuing our efforts to support smokers to quit by signposting them to free NHS cessation services.”

The Public Health Minister added: “If passed, the Public Health Bill will ban smoking in playgrounds, schools and hospital grounds, to continue the remarkable culture-change we have seen around smoking in Wales in recent years.

“I want everyone in Wales to ‘Choose Smokefree’.”