14.03.12
BMA aims for smoke-free UK by 2035
No Smoking Day is being marked by the British Medical Association (BMA), by calling on smokers to quit. The doctors’ association believes the UK could be tobacco-free by 2035.
Smoking kills about 100,000 people in the UK every year, and in Scotland it is responsible for almost a quarter of all deaths – 13,000. In Northern Ireland, smoking is the single largest cause of preventable illness and premature death, killing over 2,300 per year.
Dr Sally Winning, deputy chairman of the BMA in Scotlandsaid: “Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems. It ages skin, makes your breath smell and stains fingers yellow. Most people who smoke tell us they wish they had never started.
“Young smokers will become tomorrow’s parents who smoke and they will continue the cycle of smoking related ill-health and premature death. It is essential we break the tobacco trap. One of the best ways to prevent children starting to smoke is for their parents to quit. By stopping today, smokers are taking the first step to a tobacco free future for their children.”
Dr Winning called for the introduction of plain packaging and increased awareness around the effects of second hand smoke in homes and cars. She added: “It is vital that more effort is made to stop children taking up the habit in the first place.”
Dr Paul Darragh, chair of the BMA inNorthern Irelandadded: “Many smokers wish to quit smoking and regret having started the habit in the first instance. We must support and encourage smokers to kick the habit through the many smoking cessation services available inNorthern Ireland. This is particularly important in communities with high levels of poverty and deprivation where smoking rates are far higher.”
The BMA welcomed steps that the Northern Ireland Assembly had taken to help reduce the number of people smoking, such as banning cigarettes in vending machines.
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