A year after the Government’s announcement of its smokefree
2030 ambition, a new analysis of child smoking rates shows how
the number of children under 16 taking up smoking fell
dramatically as Government regulation of tobacco tightened after
the turn of the century. [1]
Around one in five children smoked throughout the 1990s,
when you could still buy cigarettes at 16, health warnings on
cigarette packs were barely visible, and tobacco was heavily
promoted on billboards and sponsored TV sporting events.
Two decades later, with a ban on all tobacco promotion,
smoking in public places and cars carrying children banned, and
glitzy packaging replaced by drab packs with large pictorial
health warnings, fewer than one in twenty children
smoke.[2]
A new analysis presented to the All Party Group shows that
if the number of children taking up smoking had not declined as
it did, an additional five hundred children a day would be taking
up smoking. But, with 280 children still lighting up for the
first time every day, there is no room for complacency. Two
thirds of those experimenting with smoking go on to become daily
smokers. [3]
In a round table with the Public Health Minister today, the
APPG congratulated the Government on achievements so far, and
explored the next steps needed to deliver a future where children
no longer smoke.
Chair of the APPG said:
“In the 1990s, when around 1 in 5 children smoked, it
was hard to imagine a future where smoking was not the norm. But
twenty years later, that goal seems well within our grasp. I am
heartened by the Minister’s words today and look forward to
seeing the detail of Government’s plans to deliver a smokefree
country by 2030.”
Ex-smoker Sue Mountain, from South Tyneside, who quit
smoking after being treated for cancer of the throat, spoke to
the All Party Group about why this matters to her:
“I started smoking when I was eleven to fit in; it felt
like most children smoked when I was young. I’m glad that far
fewer children smoke now, but just one child starting is one too
many. I know from personal experience how easy it is to start
smoking and how difficult it is to stop. I’m delighted the
government has set an ambition for a smokefree generation by
2030. But words on their own are not enough; action is needed to
prevent future generations ending up like me, with a constant
worry that the cancer will come back because of my smoking. And I
am one of the lucky ones, I’ve survived.”
The APPG is endorsing the Roadmap laid out by the Smokefree
Action Coalition which sets out recommendations for how the
Government’s ambition of a Smokefree 2030 can be delivered [4].
Parliamentarians attending the event heard expert presentations
about:
-
why ending smoking is essential for the health and
financial wellbeing of the country;
-
what measures are needed to deliver the Government’s
smokefree ambition, including increasing the age of sale to 21;
and
-
how legislation could be implemented to levy a charge on
the tobacco industry to finance the measures needed to deliver
the Government’s smokefree ambition.
Vice Chair of the APPG, , said:
“Tackling smoking has been a public health success for
our country and has long since been a cross-party issue. We
cannot take our foot off the pedal with the end in sight. If we
act now, we’ll be able to look back in ten years on a truly
historic achievement as we finally stub out cigarettes for
good.”
The average rate of current smoking among 11-15 year olds
in the 1990s was 19% compared with 5% in the most recent national
survey.[5] Data for the numbers of children taking up smoking by
local authority available on request.
ENDS
Notes and Links
The Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on
Smoking and Health is . The
secretariat is provided by ASH. The purpose of the APPG is to
monitor and discuss the health and social effects of smoking; to
review potential changes in existing legislation to reduce levels
of smoking; to assess the latest medical techniques to assist in
smoking cessation; and to act as a resource for the group’s
members on all issues relating to smoking and public health. For
more information see:
www.ash.org.uk/category/about-ash/all-party-parliamentary-group-on-smoking-health/
References
[1] The analysis, undertaken by Action on Smoking and
Health using a methodology developed by Cancer Research UK and
Imperial College London, applied the average rate of smoking for
11-15 year olds in the 1990s to today to estimate how many
children would have started smoking this year if smoking rates
were at 1990s levels when around 1 in 5 children smoked. https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/method-90s-level.pdf
[2] See below for illustration of falling rates of youth
smoking matched to dates of implementation of Government measures
to tackle smoking.
[3] Birge M, Duffy S, Miler JA, Hajek P. What Proportion of People
Who Try One Cigarette Become Daily Smokers? A Meta-Analysis of
Representative Surveys. Nicotine Tob
Res. November 2018. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntx243
[4] Smokefree Action Coalition, Roadmap to a Smokefree 2030
https://smokefreeaction.org.uk/smokefree2030/
