Reducing Health Inequalities in County Durham

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Reducing Health Inequalities in County Durham
Darlington Engaging in Effective Tobacco Control
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Narrowing the gapDelivering effective tobacco
control

• Dr Tricia Cresswell
• Executive Director of Public Health
• County Durham PCT
• Darlington PCT
• tricia.cresswell_at_cdpct.nhs.uk

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King James I counterblaste

• ...a custome lothesome to the eye, hateful to the
  nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the
  lungs, and in the black and stinking fume
  thereof, nearest resembling the horrible stygian
  smoke of the pit that is bottomless (1604)

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Two views

• A legal adult consumer product that people are
  free to choose if they want to enjoy the pleasure
  of smoking, knowing and accepting the widely
  publicised and usually overstated risks.

• A lethal product with over 50 known health
  impacts - including harm to non-smokers - sold by
  a predatory industry which nurtures teenage
  smoking until nicotine addiction takes over.

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Global

• Cigarettes are the only know product that, when
  used exactly as the manufacturers intended, will
  kill one in two of their users.
• Tobacco is the number one cause of premature
  death and disease in the developed world, and its
  impact in developing world is increasing.
• The Tobacco Industry is one of the worlds most
  successful industries, and its products are a
  global problem. County Durham and Darlington are
  part of this.
• Nearly 5 million premature deaths occurred from
  tobacco use in 2000. Projections indicate that by
  2020, approximately 9 million deaths will be
  attributed annually to tobacco use, with 7
  million of these deaths occurring in economically
  developing countries.

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National

• Smoking still causes 106,000 premature deaths
  each year in UK
• Smoking is the UKs single biggest preventable
  killer
• Half the difference in life expectancy between
  the highest and lowest socio-economic groups is
  down to smoking

• Smoking causes around 1 in 5 of all deaths
• Smokers lose 16 years of life on average
• Smoking is the single biggest cause of health
  inequalities

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National
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Health in County Durham and Darlington

• Life expectancy at birth is 75.7 years for men
  and 79.6 years for women in County Durham,
  compared with England which is 76.9 and 81.1
  respectively.
• Life expectancy at birth is 75.2 years for men
  and 80 years for women in Darlington.
• Health inequalities exist within County Durham
  and Darlington. Life expectancy for men in
  Easington is 74.2 years in Teesdale 77.1 years.
  For women the life expectancy is 78.4 years and
  81.3 years respectively.

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Health in County Durham and Darlington

• The standardised mortality rate (SMR) from all
  causes of death for County Durham is 115 and for
  Darlington 111 (both significantly worse than
  England).
• The SMR from all cancers for County Durham is 115
  and for Darlington 110 (both significantly worse
  than England).
• The SMR from all circulatory diseases in County
  Durham is 117 and for Darlington 114 (both
  significantly worse than England).

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So why push tobacco control?

• To save lives
• To reduce health inequalities
• To reduce likelihood of young people (especially
  girls) starting to smoke

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And

• Successful smokefree legislation does not mean
  the job is done. It was never the end goal, but a
  very welcome milestone in a long journey
• The end goal must be to eliminate the harm from
  tobacco and prevent the 1,330 deaths from smoking
  each year in County Durham and Darlington.

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What do we need to do next?

• This is what today is all about..

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Reducing Health Inequalities in County Durham
Darlington Engaging in Effective Tobacco Control
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Reducing Health Inequalities in County Durham
Darlington Engaging in Effective Tobacco Control