Let's talk - Smoking and Vaping
We were joined by Public Health Specialists Amelia Thorp and Sam Longley and Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, Lisa Liversidge. The talk was well attended with 41 students coming to see us, split over 3 sessions.
Our Community Engagement Officer Andrea McCann, supported by Lisa, started us off delivering a presentation about why people smoke or vape, the health risks associated with both and how common their use is within Rotherham.
Official figures show that the number of smokers aged 18 or over is higher in Rotherham than the England national average and that 1 in 8 over 18’s in Rotherham smoked in 2020.
Feedback from the students suggested that the main reasons they felt people took up smoking or vaping were:
- Stress
- Peer pressure
- Family background (if other family members smoke or vape)
Andrea and Lisa discussed how vaping has become popular among young people who aren’t using them for their intended purpose of getting individuals off cigarettes. Although vapes don’t contain the same toxins as cigarettes, they still contain nicotine. The health risks associated with vaping are still not fully understood but some of the health issues that have already been linked to them include asthma, heart disease and chronic lung disease.
Some of the other health risks highlighted included:
- Peripheral artery disease - where the blood flow to parts of the body like toes can be reduced or cut off and can result in infection, gangrene and amputations. This disease is more common than a lot of people think.
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) - where patients struggle to get enough breath to complete even minor day to day tasks like washing or dressing. Lisa talked about how there are an increasing number of younger patients being diagnosed with COPD in Rotherham.
- Cancer - lung, bowel, head, neck, stomach, pancreas, colon and bladder.
- Heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
- Reduced fertility in men and women (including increased risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and premature births).
Andrea and Lisa concluded the presentation by talking to the students about the benefits of giving up smoking or vaping and signposted them to services that they could use:
Rotherham Healthwave
https://rotherham-healthwave.connecthealthcarerotherham.co.uk/
Quit smoking app.
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/
Rotherham’s Children’s Public Health Nursing Service (0-19)
https://www.therotherhamft.nhs.uk/services/childrens-public-health-nursing-service
Amelia Thorp - Public Health Rotherham
Amelia spoke to the students about the role Public Health plays in the community, from helping individuals on a one to one basis, to championing large scale changes by changing policies. She spoke briefly about how smoking and vaping not only affects the health of the individual and the impact of that on hospitals, but how it also has economic costs both in terms of treating people with smoking related illnesses and the financial impact on individuals themselves due to sick absences as the result of poor health. In relation to smoking, Public health have been involved in many initiatives including:
- Making smoking more expensive
- Plain packaging
- Hard hitting pictures and warning on packets
- Hard hitting TV adverts
- Smoke free legislation (eg in pubs, restaurants, public transport)
- Stop smoking services
Amelia highlighted how research has shown that what we see other people doing impacts our own behaviour, and so campaigns such as banning smoking from indoor public areas has resulted in fewer people thinking it is ok to smoke in those places. Public health in Rotherham are currently considering plans to refresh their campaign to make play parks smoke free and also to introduce voluntary smoke free areas in the new town centre regeneration areas. As part of these considerations, the students were asked if they would complete a short survey to gather their opinions on these projects.
Thank you to all who attended the session and to Lisa, Amelia and Sam for their invaluable advice.
