Fifteen people in Shropshire are killed by smoking every week according to shock new Department of Health figures, which show the extent of smoking-related illnesses in the county.
Ten people die in areas covered by Shropshire County Council and five in areas within the Telford and Wrekin Council district.
Alarmingly, at least one person in each council area dies every day from smoking.
Smokers in the county are being warned to brace themselves on Wednesday when the UK will be the first country in the EU to introduce graphic picture warnings on all tobacco products.
These will include images of rotting teeth and lungs and the effects of throat cancer and will replace the written warnings currently featured on packs.
The images will attempt to illustrate the devastating and permanent effects that tobacco can have on health and aim to curb the smoking epidemic which kills more than 700 people a year in Shropshire.
The written warnings have been a huge success according to the new figures from the Department of Health.
The figures show that since the warnings were introduced five years ago, more than 90,000 smokers have been motivated by them to call the NHS smoking helpline.
Last year in Shropshire, almost 4,000 smokers kicked the habit with the help of the local NHS Stop Smoking services.
But despite progress over the past 10 years, smoking is still the biggest killer in the country and results in the premature deaths of more than 87,000 people each year in England.
35 Comments
Not meaning to be cynical.
But what is the point of warning people about the dangers of smoking?
Everyone is intelligent enough to realise smoking is bad for your health if people choose to smoke so be it.
If the Government were truly serious about getting people to stop smoking they ban the sale of cigarrettes in this country but hey wait a min.
The Government recieved too much tax income from the smoking industry so why ban it.
In which case why bother putting warnings on the side of packets.
the Government should be encouraging people to smoke to gain more taxes.
And if more people die from smoking then the Government will not have to fund huge pensions in the future plus housing shortages will be reduced.
The only thing the Gov need do is to ban people from using the NHS if they smoke willingly and force them to go private instead
Ok so 60 people die a month from smoking…So whats happening to their houses ??? There is such a housing shortage in Shropshire.
Before anyone goes all anti on me Yes i am a smoker & Yes i am on the Laughable choose your home.
Thank god for the ban on smoking in pubs. I smoked but not having everyone lighting up every 5 mins while you’re having a drink has helped me and a few of our friends give up.
It is so nice to sit in the pub and not get choked to death by others smoke.
Stopping people from smoking in pubs, clubs and cafes will save lives. It’s still really sad to see parents smoking over their children, i don’t know how they can do it!
I agree with Y Mab Darogan, people just don’t listen to warnings or you wouldn’t see mothers lighting up next to their kids, or old men who can hardly breath smoking!
So why spend money on trying to get people to stop when its obvious the Government makes billions from tax on cigs?
Just a paper exercise by the gov.
If Gov was serious they would ban smoking and the sale of tobacco
i am proud of my labour government for banning smoking in pubs, against popular and tory will, this policy will i think be one of their greatest legacies ever
why does it matter, no one is telling people to smoke, they do it because they want to. Leave them be. its their choice to risk their life!
Good idea, ban smoking everywhere! I hate.
It’s a total waste of money trying to stop people from smoking, but those who want help should be offered it. Schools want to get tough on smoking, outside the corbert in Baschurch the other day a group of kids were standing there all with fags in hand. How can they get away with that? Have the rules changed because my school would not of allowed that.
ban this cancerous stuff
who cares - we have human rights you know, including the right to smoke, i’ll smoke where i like and everyone else be damned
have smoking deaths dropped since the introduction of the smoking ban..
ego i am also proud of this government and it’s many achievments
The smoking ban is a great thing, i can’t see why anyone complains about it. If you want to smoke go out side, if you don’t then you still get to go out for a pint. I also have a few mates that have quit because of it.
It must be to early to tell if deaths have fallen because of the ban, but i know lots of peope who’ve given up because of it.
Wanting to give up smoking is a state of mind each has to find for him/herself. Every smoker is more than aware of the dangers & if the Gov.wanted it to stop, like Y Mab Darogan said, they would ban it. I can’t be proud of a Gov that is more interested in looking like they’re doing the right thing than actually doing it, too much money to lose. These pictures just make me want another cigarette.
i have decided not to respond to any more tory boy comments until he has something sensible to say. i may have a long wait.
But Devon Salopian you are toryboy!!!
Are you going to ignore yourself.
I totally agree with Tory Boy
y mab, can we include banning fat folk from using the nhs as they are also a drain on nhs resources
jas, its ok because nobody complains about the smoking ban in pubs anymore because since the ban people stopped going in them.
ps the cat did a widdle on the carpet, (just for y mab)
Nanny state knows best!!
You deserve who you vote in.
At “Tory boy”, there is no ‘right to smoke’The right to smoke is in no way a human right.
15 a week sounds pretty bad but how are the stats put together? we all know the old saying “there are lies damn lies and statistics” I do not smoke myself but I find the anti smoking brigade a real pain and all the Govt interference surrounding it.
I wonder how it compares to alcohol related deaths?
Will we ever have warnings and pictures on pint glasses?
robbie pickles, please explain
Spencer i was out saturday night and all the pubs were packed, except one (it’s just a rubbish pub).
were they town centre pubs by any chance, because its the ones on the edge of town that are boarded up
We started out of town worked our way in, the OPO was the dead pub, only a handful of people. It’s end of the month too, so the pubs can be really quiet. I agree with the ban and that non smokers have the right to not breath in ours smoke. Most of my friends smoke (although a few have given up cos of the ban)and it’s just not seen as a problem to go out side. we’ve sat outside in the beer garden all year round, in some pubs because inside is so crowded, so it makes little difference. It’s just really nice to go home and not smell of smoke.
Our country pub is doing really well, goes quiet on Tuesdays and wednesdays but normally full of people. I go more because of the smoking ban.
y mab you have just insulted me but i take it all in my stride, cymru am byth
I’m reasonably certain that if I were to rip open somebody’s chest and pull out one of their lungs, even if it was a healthy lung, most people would be sick or at the very least disturbed. I’m not particularly sure what the government hopes to accomplish with these images, aside from giving smokers something to collect and talk about.
My lungs, my right to kill them off.
Another pointless excercise by the authorities. The economy is in a mess, the financial market is falling apart, it isn’t safe to walk the streets etc. So they have another go at the smoker. Brilliant. All smokers (including myself) know they are killing themselves, so we do not need reminding.