DHSSPS Consultation on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces

The Institute of Public Health welcomes the current consultation on smoking in enclosed workplaces and public places. Having considered the three options given the Institute strongly supports option 5c – “a total ban on smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places”. This clearly outlines that a total ban on smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces is the only option which will adequately protect the health of all workers and contribute to reducing the prevalence of smoking in the population of Northern Ireland.As an organisation set up to promote North South co-operation we believe that a similar approach to smoking in public places and workplaces should be taken to that in the Republic of Ireland where there is clear evidence that such policies are practical, well supported and effective.

Statistics on Smoking Cessation Services in Northern Ireland: 08/09: Pre Release Access List

2008/09 Pre-Release Access List

Annual Statistics on Smoking Cessation Services in NI

Annual Reports and Deprivation Maps

SLÃÅN: Smoking Patterns in Ireland: Implications for policy and services

SLÃÅN: Smoking Patterns in Ireland: Implications for policy and services Click here to download PDF 1.1mb

Stopping smoking made easier

This booklet takes smokers through the stages of stopping smoking as well as answers common questions smokers ask about smoking

Passive smoking: there's nothing passive about it

This leaflet highlights the health risks of passive smoking to adults and children, and suggests way of minimising your exposure to second-hand smoke.

For your heart's sake stop smoking

On World Heart Day, 29 September 2011, the Public Health Agency is urging all smokers to stop smoking and reduce their risk of developing heart disease (cardiovascular disease - CVD) or suffering a stroke or a heart attack.Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death and illness in the UK. Research shows that smoking is one of the main contributors of the disease, causing around 25,000 deaths a year in the UK. Cigarette smokers are two times more likely than non-smokers to suffer a heart attack.The majority of people who suffer a heart attack before the age of 50 are smokers. Cigarette smoke causes heart disease by:· reducing oxygen to the heart;· increasing blood pressure and heart rate;· increasing blood clotting;· damaging cells that line coronary arteries and other blood vessels, causing narrowing of the arteries.From the moment smoke reaches your lungs, your heart is forced to work harder. Your pulse quickens, forcing your heart to beat an extra 10 to 25 times per minute, as many as 36,000 additional times per day. Because of the irritating effect of nicotine and other components of tobacco smoke, your heartbeat is more likely to be irregular. This can contribute to cardiac arrhythmia and many other serious coronary conditions, such as heart attack.For smokers who already suffer from heart problems, quitting will dramatically help. Many heart patients notice an almost immediate improvement when they stop smoking. Often, they need less medication and can cope better with physical exertion.Gerry Bleakney, Head of Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement, PHA, said: "Smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease and smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attackas someone who has never smoked. One in every two long-term smokers will die prematurely from smoking-related diseases, many suffer very poor health before they die. However one year after successfully quitting smoking, an individual will have reduced their risk of having a heart attack to half that of a person continuing to smoke."Across Northern Ireland, there are over 600 support services for people who wish to stop smoking, based in GP surgeries, community pharmacies, hospitals, community centres and workplaces. I would encourage everyone who is thinking about quitting to log on to our Want 2 Stop website: www.want2stop.info and order a 'Quit Kit' free of charge alternatively contact the Smokers' Helpline on 0808 812 8008."

Smoking causes mouth cancer, PHA warns

Mouth cancer awareness week begins on the 13 - 20 November. With this in mind the Public Health Agency is urging everyone to be aware of the signs and symptoms of mouth cancer and is encouraging all smokers thinking about stopping smoking to make the decision to stop today.In Northern Ireland 195 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2009. The disease causes one death every five hours in the UK and yet it is one of the least well-known cancers. Smoking and excess alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing mouth cancer, which can occur in or on any part of the mouth, tongue, lips, neck and throat. In its very early stages, mouth cancer can be easy to ignore. Most people with mouth cancer have no early symptoms at all, but others may have:an ulcer in the mouth or on the lip that won't heal; constant pain or soreness; red or white patches in the mouth;a lump on the lip, tongue or in the neck; bad breath; unexplained bleeding in the mouth; numbness in the mouth; loose teeth.The earlier the disease is caught, the better. Survival rates rise to 90 per cent if the cancer is treated before it has spread. Gerry Bleakney, Head of Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement, PHA, said: "Certain lifestyle choices can increase an individual's risk of developing mouth cancer. Tobacco is considered to be the main cause of mouth cancer, with three in four cases being linked to smoking. Excess alcohol consumption is also a known factor, with those who both smoke and drink excessively being up 30 times more likely to be at risk. "Mouth cancer and the treatment required can be traumatic for the patient as this may affect functions such as speech, chewing and swallowing. The positive news is that stopping smoking is associated with a rapid reduction in the risk of oral cancers. Regular trips to the dentist are also a must because half of all mouth cancer cases are detected by dentists."I would encourage everyone who is thinking about quitting to log on to our Want 2 Stop website www.want2stop.info and order a 'Quit Kit' free of charge. Alternatively contact the Smokers' Helpline on 0808 812 8008. "Health Minister Edwin Poots said: "Smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable illness and premature death in Northern Ireland.It is a major risk factor for oral cancer, as well as coronary heart disease, strokes and other diseases of the circulatory system. Approximately 2,300 people die each year in Northern Ireland from smoking related illnesses. Quitting smoking is the single most effective step people can take to improve their long term health."A key objective of the Department's new ten-year tobacco control strategy, due to be published next month,is to prevent people from starting to smoke. Funding provided by the Department for smoking cessation services has resulted in around 650 such services being made available in Northern Ireland in a range of settings, including pharmacies, GP surgeries and community centres. These services have helped almost 80,000 smokers to set a quit date between 2008/09 and 2010/11."The Minister added: "It is also important for people to look after their oral health by regularly attending the dentist for check-ups, as any problems can be picked up and treated at an early stage."

The PHA message is clear for World COPD Day - smoking is bad for your lungs

In 2011, 31,574 people were registered as having Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Northern Ireland. The most common cause of COPD is smoking and to mark this year's World COPD day, which takes place on Wednesday 16 November, the Public Health Agency is encouraging all smokers to make a decision to stop smoking today and reduce their risk of developing the disease.COPD refers to a group of diseases which includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and in some cases asthma. With COPD, the airways in the lungs become damaged, causing them to become narrower, therefore restricting airflow and thus making it harder to breathe. The most common symptoms of COPD are breathlessness, wheezing, abnormal sputum (a mix of saliva and mucus in the airway), and a chronic cough often mistaken for a 'smokers' cough'. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending upon how advanced the disease is. In advanced cases, daily activities, such as walking up a short flight of stairs, can become very difficult.There is no cure for COPD. Stopping smoking is the single most effective wayto reduce your risk of developing COPD and avoid any further damage to the lungs. Gerry Bleakney, Head of Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement, PHA, said: "Smoking causes the lining of the airways to become inflamed and damaged and is the biggest cause of COPD. The risk of developing COPD increases the more an individual smokes and the longer they smoke. "The good news is that making changes to your lifestyle can reduce your risk of developing COPD. Stopping smoking reduces the risk of developing COPD and also slows down its progression. There is support available to help you quit and I would encourage everyone thinking about stopping smoking to log on to our Want 2 Stop website www.want2stop.info and order a 'Quit Kit' free of charge. Alternatively contact the Smokers' Helpline on 0808 812 8008 for help on planning to stop smoking or to find out where your nearest Stop Smoking Service is. "The Health Minister Edwin Poots said: "The impact of living with COPD can place a considerable strain on the lives of those suffering from the condition and their families. I understand that most smokers want to quit but it is not always easy to succeed and that several attempts are frequently necessary. I would therefore urge all smokers on world COPD day, to make that commitment to stop smoking. Professional help and support are readily available. There are almost 650 smoking cessation services provided all over Northern Ireland, mostly in community pharmacies, but also in GP surgeries, hospitals, community halls and schools."

Mental health and growing up factsheet. Cannabis and mental health: information for young people.

About this leaflet This is one in a series of leaflets for parents, teachers and young people entitled Mental Health and Growing Up. These leaflets aim to provide practical, up-to-date information about mental health problems (emotional, behavioural and psychiatric disorders) that can affect children and young people. This leaflet gives you some basic facts about cannabis and also how it might affect your mental health. Introduction Lots of young people want to know about drugs. Often, people around you are taking them, and you may wonder how it will make you feel. You may even feel under pressure to use drugs in order to fit in, or be â?~coolâ?T. You may have heard that cannabis is no worse than cigarettes, or that it is harmless. What is cannabis? The cannabis plant is a member of the nettle family that has grown wild throughout the world for centuries. People have used it for lots of reasons, other than the popular relaxing effect. It comes in two main forms: ï,§ resin, which is a brown black lump also known as bhang, ganja or hashish ï,§ herbal cannabis, which is made up of the dried leaves and flowering tops, and is known as grass, marijuana, spliff, weed, etc. Skunk cannabis is made from a cannabis plant that has more active chemicals in it (THC), and the effect on your brain is stronger. Because â?~streetâ?T cannabis varies so much in strength, you will not be able to tell exactly how it will make you feel at any particular time. What does it do to you? When you smoke cannabis, the active compounds reach your brain quickly through your bloodstream. It then binds/sticks to a special receptor in your brain. This causes your nerve cells to release different chemicals, and causes the effects that you feel. These effects can be enjoyable or unpleasant. Often the bad effects take longer to appear than the pleasant ones. ï,§ Good/pleasant effects: You may feel relaxed and talkative, and colours or music may seem more intense. ï,§ Unpleasant effects: Feeling sick/panicky, feeling paranoid or hearing voices, feeling depressed and unmotivated. Unfortunately, some people can find cannabis addictive and so have trouble stopping use even when they are not enjoying it. The effects on your mental health Using cannabis triggers mental health problems in people who seemed to be well before, or it can worsen any mental health problems you already have. Research has shown that people who are already at risk of developing mental health problems are more likely to start showing symptoms of mental illness if they use cannabis regularly. For example if someone in your family has depression or schizophrenia, you are at higher risk of getting these illness when you use cannabis. The younger you are when you start using it, the more you may be at risk. This is because your brain is still developing and can be more easily damaged by the active chemicals in cannabis. If you stop using cannabis once you have started to show symptoms of mental illness, such as depression, paranoia or hearing voices, these symptoms may go away. However, not everyone will get better just by stopping smoking. If you go on using cannabis, the symptoms can get worse. It can also make any treatment that your doctor might prescribe for you, work less well. Your illness may come back more quickly, and more often if you continue to use cannabis once you get well again. Some people with mental health problems find that using cannabis makes them feel a bit better for a while. Unfortunately this does not last, and it does nothing to treat the illness. In fact, it may delay you from getting help you need and the illness may get worse in the longer term. [For the full factsheet, click on the link above]This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Smoking and Public Health: A Review of Reviews of Interventions to Increase Smoking Cessation, Reduce Smoking Initiation and Prevent Further Uptake of Smoking - Evidence Briefing

This evidence briefing collates review-level evidence of interventions including those targeted at pregnant women and evidence for tackling health inequalities in smoking.

Smoking and Public Health: A Review of Reviews of Interventions to Increase Smoking Cessation, Reduce Smoking Initiation and Prevent Further Uptake of Smoking - Summary

The briefing identifies gaps in primary and review-level research and makes a number of recommendations, including further measures to address health inequalities.

A Rapid Mapping Study of Smoking Projects and Services Targeted at People Living on Low Income and/or Minority Ethnic Groups

This is a study concerned with community based services aimed at smokers living on a low income and/or black and minority ethnic groups.