Smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and premature death in the UK. In 2005/06 the NHS Stop Smoking Service in Gateshead helped 1,500 people to successfully quit, measured four weeks after setting a quit date. This represents 4% of smokers in Gateshead. But is this service accessed equally by all sections of the population?
Read the full blog to find out about a recent Health Equity Audit which answered this question.
National evidence [1] shows that smoking is more prevalent among lower socio-economic groups. If this is the case, then a higher number of people from these groups should be accessing Stop Smoking Services. The 2004 Gateshead Lifestyle Survey [2] suggests that, in Gateshead, the prevalence of smoking is roughly the same for men and women. Men and women are given equal access to Stop Smoking Services so one would expect half of service users to be male and half female. Is this the case?
A study "Are Stop Smoking Services Reducing Health Inequalities in Gateshead?" looked at one year of data from the Stop Smoking Service to see if the service was being accessed equitably using a number of dimensions including age, gender, socio-economic group and ethnic group. The results were encouraging. The service had successfully targeted people resident in disadvantaged areas, but males and people from black and minority ethnic groups were under-represented among service users. Follow the link below to access the full report and its recommendations.
Are Stop Smoking Services Reducing Health Inequalities in Gateshead? (pdf 770KB)
For further information about smoking statistics contact the Public Health Analyst
1 Health Survey for England 2003, Department of Health
2 2004 Gateshead Lifestyle Survey, Gateshead PCT
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