Seize initiative, councils urged by ASH chief

Research revealed the borough has just the Get Healthy Rotherham service to assist 39,487 people who may be trying to kick the habit.

But Rotherham Council and the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said advice and support was in place for smokers, with specialised help for those who are pregnant.

Each area of England was ranked according to its support-service-to-smoker ratio, with Blackburn and Darwen one of 12 places lacking a single dedicated local service.

The government’s target is for less than five per cent of the population to be smoking by 2030 — but it also recently cut its stop smoking budget from £5 million in 2019 to £3.8 million.

Earlier this year, the Advertiser reported how Rotherham’s higher-than-average numbers of smokers were estimated to be costing the local economy more than £100 million a year in lost productivity and healthcare costs.

According to charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) the borough has a 17.85 per cent smoking rate — compared with 13.88 per cent nationally.

ASH deputy chief executive Hazel Cheeseman (above, right) said local councils must “seize the initiative and create plans for their communities that account for the tremendous burden caused by smoking”.

Rotherham’s director for public health Ben Anderson (pictured, above left) said: “Throughout the year, the council engages with residents to promote healthier lifestyles and offers advice on how to quit smoking through accessing services available.

“There are different pathways residents can access, including through Get Healthy Rotherham and Rotherham Hospital’s ICS QUIT programme for inpatients.

“We have seen over the last few years a fantastic result in the number of pregnant mothers stopping smoking thanks to the hard work from Rotherham Hospital’s maternity services.

“It is important to understand that, for many people who are looking to quit smoking, it is a very personal journey so some may make use of quitting using over the counter nicotine products and vapes, while others are more successful with on-line support such as the NHS Quit Smoking app.”

A spokesperson for Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust highlighted the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw QUIT initiative, under which tobacco treatment advisors offer specialist support sessions, incorporating motivational techniques, and stop smoking products such as nicotine replacement therapy.

The trust’s Smoking in Pregnancy Service is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, after growing from one midwife in 2002 to a lead midwife, three smoking in pregnancy midwives and two stop smoking advisors.

Smoking in pregnancy can increase the risk of premature births, stillbirths and miscarriages.

Latest statistics from the trust reveal 12.8 per cent of pregnant women were smokers at the time of delivery in 2021/2022 — down from nearly 20 per cent in 2017/2018.