Hopes rise for a healthier region as smokers quit

Mar 1 2008 by Toby Chapman, Liverpool Daily Post

TODAY’S news that Knowsley and Liverpool are right at the top of the national league table for giving up smoking is genuine cause for hope, in a city region that has suffered more than its share of tragedy, suffering and pain brought on by cigarettes.

For so many years, we have seen ourselves singled out for attention for all the wrong reasons over our smoking habits, topping the charts for resultant illnesses like lung cancer and heart attacks.

Those illnesses have cost thousands of lives, and brought heartache to thous- ands of families. They have also imposed massive financial and resource burdens upon our health care facilities, soaking up money and time that could and should have been spent on preventative health care and the treatment of other less avoidable conditions.

The national average for giving up smoking between April and September last year was 401 people out of every 100,000. Knowsley reported the best figures in the country, with 1,179 quitting the habit, while Liverpool was in third place with 841.

This is an enormous tribute to the work of the primary care trusts in our city region, and offers real hope for the future health and well-being of our population.

For so long, it has appeared as though we were knocking our heads against a brick wall when we tried to persuade people of the harm they were doing to themselves and others by smoking.

It has been particularly shocking to see how many young people still take up cigarettes, despite the level of awareness of the harm it can do to their lives.

Now, having led the country with our Smoke Free Liverpool campaign, it seems we are leading the country again in terms of persuading people to quit.

There is a long way to go, and there is no cause at all for complacency, but this is encouraging news indeed for all concerned in this vitally important work.