Programmes
The Fresh programme is based on an internationally established evidence base for tobacco control as advocated by the World Health Organisation, with the ultimate aim of saving lives through fewer people smoking.
The comprehensive programme runs across eight key strand of activity which have collectively provided a strong foundation to help reduce smoking rates through raising public awareness about the harms of tobacco, encouraging smokers to quit, helping to reduce youth smoking and reducing exposure to secondhand smoke.
Some of the achievements over the past five years have resulted in Fresh being awarded Gold Medal at the Chief Medical Officer's inaugural Public Health Awards in 2009, and include:
- adult smoking rates have fallen to a low of 22% of the North East
- the North East has an effective voice, strong partnerships and is viewed as the exemplar for
- regional work
- economies of scale are being achieved though world first pan-regional
- programmes tackling the most challenging areas of work such as second hand smoke and illicit tobacco
- media interest is higher than ever
- the North East has higher support for action to reduce smoking than anywhere else in England
The work of Fresh and also of the local tobacco alliances reports into the North East Tobacco Control Partnership which meets quarterly and is a strategic multi-agency partnership currently chaired by the Association of North East Councils.
Since 2005 Fresh has delivered a comprehensive programme covering eight key components:
1/ Building infrastructure, skills and capacity and influencing decision making around tobacco - bringing together partners from health, local authorities, the voluntary sector and businesses.
2/ Protecting people - especially children - from secondhand smoke.
3/ Motivating and supporting smokers to stop - helping drive down smoking and supporting NHS Stop Smoking Services.
4/ Media, communications and education around smoking - viewed by the World Health Organisation as the cornerstone of any successful tobacco control programme.
5/ Reducing the availability and supply of tobacco products -both legal and illegal - and addressing the supply of tobacco to children.
6/ Tobacco regulation - eg through our current campaign around plain standardised tobacco packaging.
7/ Reducing tobacco industry promotion aimed at recruiting new smokers.
8/ Research, monitoring and evaluation to ensure the programme is effective.