Oxford City Council offers plenty of healthy ways to successfully quit smoking

Studies have found that exercise can increase the chances of successfully quitting smoking with some studies finding that those who exercised were twice more likely to stay smoke free for twelve months compared to those who didn’t.

The City Council offers ways to help people to quit by providing access to exercise and fitness through initiatives such as:

• GO Active, in partnership with various initiatives throughout Oxfordshire offer fitness activities and classes in Oxford;
• Free Health Walks which take place in some of the city’s many green spaces;
• £400 from the Healthy New Town Funding to support professionals to deliver free alcohol & smoking cessation advice in Barton;
• Free Swimming Lessons;
• 50+ hours free swimming for children;
• A Bonus Card for reduced rates on activities on all of our centres;
• Hosting the Illegal Tobacco Crime Unit at Bonn Square on Wednesday 14 March, 10am – 3.30pm;

Oxford City Council is committed to improving the health and well-being of all its residents and there are many of ways for people to access support to quit smoking online, through GP’s, hospitals, by telephone, and through events such as Stoptober and tomorrow’s National No Smoking Day.

In a Health Summary from a Public Health England report in 2017, Oxford scores particularly well compared to the rest of England in several smoking related indicators for example:

• On the number of residents with a smoking status at time of delivery 2015/16 – Oxford scored 7.9 compared to the English average of 10.6;
• On smoking prevalence in adults in 2016 – Oxford scored 10.7 compared to the English average of 15.5;

Councillor Marie Tidball, Board Member for Young People, Schools and Public Health said: “We know smoking is a killer and has serious long-term effects on health. Exercise increases the chances of someone quitting successfully. That’s why the City Council is offering lots of leisure opportunities to enable people to use exercise to help them quit and stop smoking long-term.”

Notes to Editors

NHS statistics on Smoking, England – 2017:

• In 2016, 15.5 per cent of adults aged 18+ currently smoke, down from 19.9 per cent in 2010.
• In 2000, 26.8 per cent of adults aged 16+ were smokers.
• Prevalence since 2010 has fallen most in younger age groups.
• There were estimated to be around 474 thousand hospital admissions attributable to smoking in 2015/16, which was an increase from 458 thousand in 2005/06.
• As a proportion of all admissions, this has fallen to 4 per cent from 6 per cent in 2005/06.
• There were estimated to be around 79 thousand deaths attributable to smoking in 2015. This represents 16 per cent of all deaths.
• There were an estimated 2.4 million current e-cigarette users in 2016, representing around 5 per cent of adults.
• Prevalence amongst 16 to 24 year olds increased from 2 per cent in 2015 to 6 per cent in 2016.
• In 2016, tobacco was 27 per cent less affordable than it was in 2006.
• Tobacco expenditure as a proportion of total household expenditure has fallen to 1.6 per cent in 2016, from 2.9 per cent in 1985.
• Just under 11 per cent of mothers were recorded as smokers at the time of delivery in 2016/17, down from 15 per cent in 2006/07

Key facts from Cancer Research UK:

• Experts agree that tobacco is the single biggest avoidable cause of cancer in the world.
• Smoking causes over a quarter (28 per cent) of cancer deaths in the UK and nearly one in five cancer cases.
• And smoking doesn’t only cause cancer. It also causes tens of thousands of deaths each year in the UK from other conditions, including heart and lung problems.
• Up to two thirds of all long-term smokers will be killed by their habit.
• On average smokers lose around a decade of life compared with non-smokers.
• Alcohol has also been shown to be a cause of mouth, oesophageal and liver cancers, among others.
• And scientists have found that together, the effects of alcohol and tobacco are much worse than for either one of them by itself.