Smoking and tobacco control

Smoking and tobacco control in Medway

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death.

In England, 35% of all deaths for respiratory disease and 25% of all deaths for cancers were estimated to be attributable to smoking in 2020.

In 2020, there were 27,354 smokers in Medway. This is similar compared to England.

Smoking prevalence in Medway has decreased from 24% in 2011 to 13% in 2020.

In 2020 to 2021, 13% of women smoked at the time of delivery, which is worse compared to the England value.

In 2019 to 2020, 1,127 people in Medway quit smoking.

More deprived areas in Medway tend to have a higher smoking prevalence:

in 2020, 32.9% of private renters smoked compared to 13.4% of those who own or have a mortgage
in 2020, smoking rates were highest among the routine and manual socio-economic group at 28%.

There are free services that can help people quit smoking.

The Smoke Free Advice Centre is in Chatham High Street.

The centre has highly trained and approachable advisors.

The stop smoking service can provide access to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

For women looking to stop smoking in pregnancy, the centre can offer one-to-one appointments and home visits from specialist midwives.

About 2,500 people access the Smoke Free Advice Centre each year.

very brief advice (VBA) and an offer of quit support from healthcare professionals
acute trusts to introduce smoking cessation treatment provision for inpatients
health and social care providers should encourage more smokers to quit
organisations providing publicly funded services to setup smokefree sites.