Trust marks No Smoking Day with NHS Smokefree Pledge
On National No Smoking Day, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to announce that it has signed the NHS Smokefree Pledge.
The Pledge was created by public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). It was set up by the Royal College of Physicians to end the harm caused by smoking.
ASH provides NHS organisations with a platform to show their support for a smokefree NHS. By raising awareness, it aims to help more smokers in their attempts to quit.
We, as a Trust, welcome the Pledge, which not only aims to help people stop smoking but create an environment to help them to do so.
The Trust also offers support to staff and patients who are looking to quit.
The Pledge was signed by the Trust’s chief medical officer, Adrian Flynn, chief executive Debbie Richards and chair Margaret Schwarz.
Adrian says: “The Trust is proud to support the NHS Smokefree Pledge. By signing this pledge, we hope to raise awareness and encourage smokers to take those first steps in attempting to quit.”
Last year the NHS Smokefree Pledge was relaunched to bring it into line with the Government’s target for England to be smokefree by 2030.
Almost 75,000 people die from smoking related diseases each year in England. Smoking accounts for over one-third of all deaths from respiratory disease, one quarter of all deaths from cancer and over one tenth of all deaths caused by circulatory diseases.
On average, smoking reduces life expectancy by 10 years. If hospitalised, people who smoke are more likely to require longer stays and need intensive care after surgery.
Smoking costs the NHS around £2.4 billion each year through smoking-related hospital admissions and the cost of treating smoking related illness via primary care services.
Delivering the NHS Smokefree Pledge will not only bring us closer to targets to reduce smoking rates but save tens of thousands of lives and billions of pounds in NHS resources.