Smoking and Tobacco

The health consequences of tobacco smoking are well documented and smoking is still the largest cause of avoidable early death in Wales. In 2010, approximately 5,450 deaths in people aged 35 and over were caused by smoking, which is nearly 1 in 5 of all deaths in this age group

Ref: Public Health Wales Observatory (2012) Tobacco and health in Wales. Cardiff: Public Health Wales

Smoking and exposure to second hand smoke has a significant impact on the health of employees and the performance of an organisation. Currently, about 19% of the adult population in Wales smoke tobacco; but it is also estimated that 68% of smokers actually want to give up! This provides employers with a fantastic opportunity to engage their staff about smoking, raising awareness of the health, social and financial impacts, and helping to support them to quit.

What Employers Can Do

Find a Service

• Help Me Quit  is the single point of contact for smokers who want to stop smoking in Wales. The Help Me Quit contact centre team will process all self-referrals from smokers and e-referrals from professions.

Call: 0800 085 2219

Visit: www.helpmequit.wales

• If your organisation would like to appoint a Stop Smoking Champion, find out more about the Smoking Brief Intervention training available from the Making Every Contact Count  website. 

Further Information

• Visit the Stop Smoking section on the NHS Choices website for a range of helpful information and resources for individuals.
• Support employees trying to quit smoking by promoting smoking cessation behavioural support groups, all available from Help Me Quit.
• To support your workplace campaigns, order smoking related leaflets from the Health Promotion Library and arrange a loan of the smoking health promotion resources from Healthy Working Wales.
• Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) Wales Cymru  is the leading voluntary organisation in Wales tackling tobacco use. Their main aim is to achieve a reduction in and eventual elimination of the health problems associated with smoking and tobacco use.

Campaigns

National No Smoking Day  - 2nd Wednesday of every March

World No Tobacco Day - End of May every year