Smoking is UK’s biggest killer, accounting for about 1000 premature deaths each year in Cornwall as well as a heavy toll of illness.  We have made great strides in recent years in driving down the number of people smoking – it is now 20 per cent of adults.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Stop Smoking Service works to NICE Guidance and has over 80 trained Stop Smoking Service advisors working across Cornwall, in a variety of settings including: surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies, schools, Children's Centres and other community venues. 

The majority of smokers report that they want to stop. Almost nine out of ten (88%) smokers state that they want to quit because of health concerns.

Using the help and support of the Stop Smoking Service is the most cost effective way of quitting is nearly four times more effective than will power alone.

The ASH 'Reckoner' toolkit to help estimate the local health impact and cost of tobacco use estimates that: 

* There are 88,564 smokers in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

* Smoking costs Cornwall and Isles of Scilly approximately £175.7 million a year

Call Health Promotion now on (01209) 615600 or e-mail us at hps.admin@cornwall.gov.uk and find out how they can help.

Go for it, you've got nothing to lose and so much to gain.

Smoking cessation is associated with the following health benefits:

• Smoking cessation lowers the risk for lung and other types of cancer.

• Smoking cessation reduces the risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Coronary heart disease risk is substantially reduced within 1 to 2 years of cessation.

• Smoking cessation reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The rate of decline in lung function is slower among persons who quit smoking.

• Smoking cessation reduces the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading causes of death in the United States. 

• Smoking cessation by women during their reproductive years reduces the risk for infertility. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

Updated April 2018