Welcome to the website of Fresh, Smoke Free North East. Here you will find details of our work together with other key local, regional and national activity designed to reduce smoking levels and help the 70 per cent of smokers who would like to quit.

We are urging our region's MPs to stand up on behalf of families across the region and help make smoking history for our children.

Around 10,000 children aged 11-15 smoke in our region - and unless they quit, one in two will die from it. It's the nation's biggest killer and costs the NHS £2.7bn a year.

 

If you feel strongly about this issue, click on the "lobby MP" section on the left to show your support and help prevent more young people become addicted to smoking.


Smoking costs businesses and organisations over £70 million a year in sickness leave and absenteeism, according to a new report by the London School of Economics.  To see the regional breakdown click here.


Smoking and Mental Health

Fresh are working with Continumm and Sector 3 Solutions to develop and deliver Tobacco Education Training and Stop Smoking training to mental health service users, staff, carers and volunteers across the North East.  Click here for more information.

 

 A National Tobacco Strategy
Thousands of people in the North East responded to a government consultation with a loud and clear voice demanding that we must help make smoking history for our children. 

The Government asked for views on a number of measures aimed at making smoking less attractive and helping smokers to quit. Over 8,000 people from the North East and tens of thousands of others across the UK supported measures such as:

-    cigarettes sold in plain packaging
-    removing cigarette vending machines
-    better help for smokers who want to quit 
-          putting tobacco products out of sight in shops
-    more support to tackle the flow of cheap and illicit tobacco. 

The Government is now considering all of the responses it has received, not only from individuals but primary care trusts, councils, charities and other organisations.

There is still much more work to be done though and details of this are given in the Fresh Business Plan for 2008/9. And click here to see the Consultation on the future of tobacco control : consultation report  

 
Protecting Children from Secondhand Smoke - Training Programme
Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause a range of diseases and conditions including coronary heart disease, lung cancer, glue ear and sudden infant death (cot death) amongst many others. Frersh is co-ordinating a Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation training programme aimed at helping front line staff protect children from the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke.  Read the Briefing Paper here.