Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health.

The Board received a report and presentation which included a summary of the recently published Tobacco Needs Assessment for City and Hackney, the local response to the evidence and intelligence and an overview of the newly re- commissioned City & Hackney stop smoking service, including new funding streams. The report set out a series of recommendations for Board Members to consider.

The Deputy Chair raised her concerns surrounding vaping and this was echoed by fellow Members of Board. Since the Board were aware of the potential central government plan to ban smoking in public spaces, Members were curious to know whether action could be taken locally by the City Corporation within its remit. The Deputy Chair was in favour of the City Corporation signing up to a smoke-free charter and Members of the Board were also keen to explore further funding to bring up further initiatives to help people stop smoking.

Officers advised the Board that voluntary smoking bans in public spaces had been attempted in the London Borough of Hackney, however there was an issue when it came to enforcement. Opportunities for smoke free pavement licences existed since there was legislation available to do this and signing up to the local government declaration would be the initial step in doing so. Members of the Board were in favour of receiving further information on this to see what the City Corporation could do in relation to its smoke-free commitments.

The cost of cigarettes was highlighted and it was suggested that focus could be shifted towards this in an attempt to stop people from starting smoking. Officers reminded the Board of the addictive nature of nicotine which meant that highlighting the cost of tobacco would not necessarily deter smokers. However, there were a number of tobacco free groups (some with NHS funding) where any smoker could access support, and officers wanted to ensure that these pathways remained opened to those willing to quit smoking. Officers acknowledged that although evidence had shown e-cigarettes as an effective way to stop smoking tobacco a range of options were provided to those willing to quit smoking and this included vapes. However, apart from people already smoking tobacco, it was strongly advised to discourage people from vaping since vaping was not risk-free.

The sale of illegal cigarettes was raised as a further concern. The Port Health and Public Protection Director updated the Board regarding a recent prosecution of an individual selling illegal tobacco and vapes. The press release was circulated to Members after the meeting.

RESOLVED, that – the Health and Wellbeing Board endorse the recommendations listed within the report which include a joint City & Hackney partnership commitment to reduce the harms from tobacco.