Smoking
Are you getting support to help you quit?
Quitting is probably the best thing you will ever do to improve your health.
For help with quitting go to LiveWell – Stop smoking support.
Hear from those who have quit…
More about smoking
Find out about the dangers of smoking and the effects it can have on yourself and those around you.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are similar in appearance to a cigarette that delivers a warm mist to the airway of users when drawing on the mouthpiece. Nicotine and other substances such as flavourings may be included in the fluid vapourised by the device.
Their use has become widespread and it is reported that there are 2.6 million people using them in the UK.
Health impacts of electronic cigarettes
Knowledge of the health impacts of using e-cigarettes is evolving and North East Lincolnshire Public Health team support the position of Public Health England that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than smoking. They do not contain the cancer causing chemicals that are present in cigarettes smoke and therefore will have a much lower risk of any serious long term health implications.
Can electronic cigarettes help people to quit smoking ?
A number of studies have shown that electronic cigarettes can help smokers quit smoking and studies of their effects on tobacco withdrawal and craving suggest good potential as smoking cessation aids.
Risk to people near electronic cigarettes
Most second-hand smoke from cigarettes comes from the burning tip, known as sidestream smoke. By contrast, electronic cigarettes do not generate any sidestream vapour. What is emitted into the air is exhaled by the electronic cigarette user. This comprises nicotine and some other particles, primarily consisting of flavours, aroma transporters, glycerol and propylene glycol.
A recent review of the impact of electronic cigarettes noted that passive exposure to the aerosol can expose non-users to nicotine but at concentrations that are unlikely to have any significant health impact. While electronic cigarette vapour can contain some of the toxicants present in tobacco smoke these are at much lower levels. One preliminary study found that the concentration of particles in electronic cigarette vapour was about 100-fold lower than from tobacco smoke and poses no identifiable risk to bystanders.
Are electronic cigarettes a gateway to smoking?
There has been a concern that electronic cigarettes could act as a ‘gateway’ to smoking tobacco among young people and to the ‘renormalisation’ of smoking. Whilst some never-smokers are experimenting with electronic cigarettes, regular use is rare among children and current electronic cigarette use is confined largely to those who have already tried smoking. There is a risk of young people becoming addicted to nicotine if they use electronic cigarettes and non smokers would be advised not to experiment with them.
Counterfeit and smuggled tobacco is commonly found in North East Lincolnshire. It is illegal to sell non duty paid tobacco and the Council employ a Tobacco Enforcement Officer to identify businesses and individuals who trade in such goods.
For more information about illegal tobacco, see our Trading standards pages.
Make your home smoke free and protect your family.
If you smoke then you will be putting at risk your health as well as that of your children and other members of the household.
The best way to protect your family from the dangers of cigarette smoke is to make your home smoke free. That means going right away from the house to smoke. No level of cigarette smoke is safe. Smoking in front of children also sends a message that smoking is acceptable, rather than a deadly addictive habit.
Smoking is the single biggest killer in accidental fires in the home. If you do choose to smoke stub cigarettes out properly, dispose of them carefully and always ensure that you keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach.
What doesn’t work:
- opening a window
- standing by the door
- only smoking in one room
- only smoking when your children aren’t there
- putting on a fan
What does work:
- always go outside the house to smoke (even if your children aren’t there)
- make people aware your home is smokefree and ask visitors not to smoke in the house
- have an ashtray ready to take outside to collect cigarette ends
- put a coat by the back door
Benefits of a smoke free home:
- a healthier home for you and your children
- your health will improve if you smoke less cigarettes
- your children won’t see you smoking and are less likely to copy you
- a smoke free home is a fresher, brighter home that doesn’t need decorating so often
- a smoke free home is a safer home – more fires in the home are caused by cigarettes than any other single cause
- your pets’ health will also benefit
Imagine a world where no young person under 16 smokes Cigarettes. Do you think that this can be achieved? The answer is yes.
The numbers of young people (aged between 11 and 16) who smoke has been going down rapidly and now only 5% of young people (one in 20) smoke. It is projected that the likely number of young people smoking will reach zero percent by about 2025.
Children who start smoking before the age of 16 are twice as likely to continue as adults. Those who start smoking before the age of 16 are also more likely to be heavier smokers.
Breathe 2025 is a new initiative that aims to have within the next decade a generation of children that are all tobacco-free.
The Breathe 2025 campaign asks people to make public, practical and personal commitments to help inspire the next generation of young people to be smokefree.
These are some of the things that can be done:
For adults
- Pledge to stop smoking if you are a smoker
- Encourage young people to avoid tobacco use by quitting and supporting others to quit (especially the young and vulnerable).
- Pledge to keep your home completely smoke free
- Pledge to tell your children you really don’t want them to start smoking and would be disappointed and upset if they do.
- Educate young people and help them make healthy choices.
For school children
- Pledge to stop smoking
- Pledge never to start smoking
- Pledge to talk to your friends to find out the truth for myself – that most young people don’t actually smoke
- Pledge to do what you can to help friends and family who smoke to stop
- Pledge to champion the smokefree vision. I will promote Breathe 2025 on social media and help spread the word among other young people
For businesses
- Pledge to champion the smokefree vision on your website, through social media and across our local networks
- Pledge to make sure your employees have the information they need to lead smokefree lives
- Pledge to make your business a smokefree location – and to keep it that way
- Pledge to help your employees to stop smoking by offering them support during working hours
For schools
- Pledge to use opportunities across the curriculum to teach students about the consequences and impacts of smoking and the tobacco industry
- Pledge to help anyone associated with your school who smokes to stop
- Pledge to find out how many of our pupils are choosing to remain smokefree and celebrate what you find
- Pledge to involve your pupils in the school’s activities around the smoke-free vision. Making them champions of the cause will encourage them to lead smokefree lives
- Pledge to advertise your commitment to the smokefree vision by adding this badge to our website and social media accounts
- Pledge to share your thoughts and the vision with other schools in the area; and encourage them to pledge too
- Pledge to ensure young people in your school who might want to try smoking are encouraged to access help and support from an early stage
- Pledge to promote and maintain a totally smokefree site
Pledge to Breathe 2025
Make your pledge on Breathe 2025.
Children have very little control over breathing in cigarette smoke so it is up to adults to protect them. Babies and young children’s lungs and immune systems are not fully developed. Over 80% of cigarette smoke is invisible.
- children are more likely to get coughs and colds and ear infections
- the chance of your child getting asthma doubles
- babies are more at risk of cot death
- children are more at risk of meningitis
- tobacco smoke contains 4,000 chemicals of which over 50 are known to cause cancer
- Tar is known to cause both cancer and lung damage
- Carbon monoxide is a gas found in car exhaust fumes
- Benzene is found in petrol fumes and causes leukaemia
- Ethanol is used in anti-freeze
- Ammonia is used in cleaning products
- Formaldehyde is an embalming fluid
- Hydrogen cyanide is an industrial pollutant
- Arsenic is effectively rat poison
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is found in diesel exhaust
Related websites
LiveWell – Stop smoking support
Contact details
Wellbeing service, Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, DN35 8LN
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01472 325500