Smoking
Around 15.3 per cent of adults smoked in Rochdale borough in 2021. This is above the England rate of 12.7 per cent, although it has seen a downward trend since 2014 (Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey).
The impact of smoking on health
Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health challenges. Smoking's harmful not only to smokers but also to the people around them and it's one of the biggest causes of death and illness in both the borough and the UK. Smoking damages your heart, circulatory system and lungs and increases the risk of developing over 50 health conditions.
It can also worsen or prolong symptoms of conditions such as asthma and colds, cause impotence in men and have a negative effect on unborn babies if smoking continues throughout the pregnancy.
Reducing smoking rates
Rates of smoking have declined in recent decades, but they remain high. This is particularly true in some social groups including those with low incomes and people with mental health problems. These groups suffer the highest smoking-related illness and death rates with smoking accounting for at least half the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest communities.
Smoking rates have fallen due to a range of reasons linked to making it more convenient and cheaper to be a non-smoker, such as policies and legal changes to create smoke-free places and banning the advertising and promotion of tobacco products. Smoking remains the major cause of preventable ill health and we must continue the effort to reduce smoking, especially in deprived groups.
Statistics on smoking
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Tobacco control profile - the Local Tobacco Control Profiles for England provide data and information on tobacco use, tobacco-related harm, and measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level.
Guidance and information on smoking
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Smoking and tobacco: applying All Our Health - evidence and guidance to inform healthcare professionals and maximise their contribution to reducing harm from smoking and tobacco.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Stop smoking services: Models of delivery - this document helps to support directors of public health and local healthcare commissioners with the provision of local stop smoking support.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance - Smoking and tobacco - NICE has produced a number of documents that cover smoking including guidance on smokeless tobacco cessation, harm reduction approaches, workplace interventions, prevention and supporting people to stop.