Agenda item

Marina Chrysou, Smokefree Project Officer, introduced the report and presentation as set out at pages 5 – 40 in the agenda pack.

The following main points were discussed at the meeting:

·       The Board noted that smoking remained the single greatest preventable cause of ill health and mortality in Islington. The new national investment would provide support to residents and would address persistent inequalities.

·       The Board was advised that there was a system-wide support for new coordinated initiatives, which included a new Islington Tobacco Alliance.

·       Smoking prevalence in Islington was estimated at around 13.2%, which was slightly higher than London overall.

·       It was noted that higher rates of smoking were found in men, residents living in deprived areas and in some white ethnic groups.

·       Smoking prevalence in people with Serious Mental Illness was around 30%.

·       Stop smoking services in Islington consisted of community services, medication including dual nicotine replacement therapy and a tiered, specialist stop smoking model that offered advice and 16 weeks of personalised support at the higher tier.

·       The Board noted the three priorities to end smoking in Islington. The priorities included, protecting children and young people from the harms of tobacco use, reducing health disparities caused by smoking and building further partnerships across the system, to deliver change faster and support smokers to quit.

·       The Board also noted details on the delivery plan and the grant income that Islington was expected to receive, which was around £287,152 each year.

·       It was noted that one of the priorities was to increase the number of people setting quit dates. The Board sought further clarification on quit dates, and Officer’s advised that a quit start dates was the number of people who had accessed the service. Service users were expected to set a date they wanted to quit smoking by to ensure they were committed to quitting smoking.

·       In terms of data available on smoking statistics, it was advised that there was data available nationally that covered a range of population groups including people in different employment, people living in certain areas of the borough and people living in social housing.

·       Officers were asked about challenges and barriers within GP services in supporting people to stop smoking. Officers advised that the workforce in GP services were stretched, so there were challenges in having the services delivered. GP and pharmacies were encouraged to work together locally to provide the service. Different local models were explored to ensure that there were different options available in how this service is being delivered. Additionally, there were number of trained professionals who provided support the stop smoking services locally outside of GP services.

RECOMMENDED:

      i.         To note the many adverse impacts of smoking in Islington, its contribution to health, social and economic inequalities, and the stop smoking support available.

     ii.         To support implementation of models of effective practice to support increases in stop smoking reach into key settings, groups and communities.

    iii.         To support the establishment of a new Islington Tobacco Alliance to support and develop coordinated plans to help make Islington smokefree.