Smokefree South West Latest News Articles

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Smokefree South West Latest News Articles

Here you will find a back catalogue of the newsletters sent by Smokefree South West to its partners and those involved with tobacco control. It highlights the breaking news, crucial issues area and work we are doing in this area. It also rounds up some of the stories that have appeared in the media and flags key dates for your diary.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list please contact Toby Reynolds on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

May e-Newsletter

Protect your family, take the smoke outside

Smokefree South West will launch a major campaign on May 23rd urging smokers across the South West to protect their families by taking their smoke outside.

Worrying new research shows that more people are smoking in the home or allowing others to do so with the figure currently standing at around 1 million people (20%) in the area (YouGov 2010). Smokefree South West''s multi-media campaign aims to halve this number by the year 2015. Below is a still from the hard-hitting television advertisement which will be on screens across the South West.

It focuses on the danger of second and thirdhand smoke to the whole family, especially children. Poisonous chemicals can linger on a variety of household items after the smoke has ceased to be visible.

Smokefree South West has developed a brand new "smoke outside pack", containing information about the best way to create a smokefree home, tools to aid smokers to protect their families as well as information about quitting which will be available to families across the South West.

There will be full coverage of the launch in the next newsletter.

March e-Newsletter

'Wise-Up to Roll-Ups' campaign targets hand rolling tobacco smokers

Smokefree South W est has launched a major campaign targeting the 33% of smokers in the area, the highest in the country, who use hand rolling tobacco. The first of its kind, it highlights its inherent health risks and dispels the myths that have built up around it.

Research was conducted amongst smokers of hand rolling tobacco.

Key findings show:

Smokers say hand rolling tobacco is more natural, with fewer additives. Many believe it allows them greater control over their smoking.
Many smokers believe that smoking hand rolling tobacco represents a more 'organic' and healthier option.
Smokers enjoy 'rolling up' and see it as a real art form and skill.
Hand rolling tobacco smokers are immune to traditional anti-smoking campaigns. They don't think of themselves as 'normal' smokers.

The campaign, which has been backed by Cancer Research UK and the Faculty of Public Health, can be seen across the South West including eye catching billboards, support packs for smokers looking to quit and hard-hitting radio and television adverts.

DECIPHer-ASSIST

DECIPHer-ASSIST is a smoking prevention intervention which aims to reduce adolescent smoking prevalence. DECIPHer-ASSIST encourages new norms of smoking behaviour by training influential Year 8 students to work as 'peer educators'. Peer educators are trained and supported to have informal conversations with other Year 8 students about the risks of smoking and the benefits of being smoke-free. Information is more effectively taken on board if the person giving the message is the same age as them and not a teacher of a parent.

Lucy Crystal the South West ASSIST Programme Coordinator:

'This is an excellent intervention to prevent uptake of smoking, which has been shown to be effective. It works with year 8 pupils (12-13 year olds), which is the time at which smoking uptake in young people begins to accelerate. It is fantastic that Smokefree South West has been able to support localities in taking this programme forward by purchasing DECIPHer-ASSIST licences on their behalf from DECIPHer-Impact. The roll out of the programme is now happening in certain localities across the South West, with more schools coming on board from January 2011. The South West will see the first large scale roll out of the programme across the UK with 11 localities participating. It is estimated that as many as 31,000 young people aged 11-15 years smoke in the South West and 45 teenagers start smoking every day and it is crucial that we work to tackle this. A key strand of the Smokefree South West business plan is to prevent this uptake and ensure smoking prevalence is reduced'

e-Newsletter - Issue 2

Hand Rolled Tobacco

Smokefree South West is the first organisation to develop a campaign specifically targeting smokers of hand rolled tobacco. It is a significant problem in the South West, with 33% of smokers using it and many others on an occasional basis

The number of roll-ups smoked in Britain has risen 35% in two years with half of all hand rolled tobacco illegal. Our research shows hand rolled tobacco users are immune to traditional stop smoking campaigns which don't challenge the perceived benefits of hand rolled tobacco so we are effectively targeting a new audience.

Research using roll-up cigarettes made by smokers, shows that the levels of nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals inhaled are often higher than those from bought cigarettes. Hand rolled tobacco is more likely to cause mouth, throat and lung cancer as well as lung diseases such as emphysema and heart disease.