Smoke Free North East campaign wins award

Jul 3 2009 by Helen Rae, The Journal

The judging panel felt that Fresh Smoke Free North East was an “excellent example of a well-coordinated and effective public health partnership approach to tackling a hugely important public health challenge.”

Dr Eugene Milne, deputy regional director of public health said: “We realised a few years ago that to tackle this problem we needed to follow the lead of the best in the world.

“Smoking rates had fallen dramatically in California as a result of their approach to tobacco control, so we followed their lead and established an Office for Tobacco Control – Fresh Smoke Free North East. Fresh has done a lot in a short space of time and, in particular, made a great contribution in lobbying for the legislation on smoking in public places introduced in England two years ago.

“Earlier this year the General Household Survey revealed that the number of smokers in the North East was at an all time low.

“Along with our excellent NHS Stop Smoking Services, Fresh can take substantial credit for that and continues to lead our efforts to cut the number of deaths from smoking-related diseases in the region every year – currently about 5,800 - even further.”

Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh, said: “I was a nurse originally and looked after my dad with emphysema, so I’ve seen what smoking can do.

“I am proud of the Fresh team and the hard work of the NHS, local authorities, academics, voluntary and private sector, as well as the public, in tackling our biggest killer.

“Smoking affects everyone, whether it’s a family or an employer, and more and more people are seeing the benefits of quitting or not starting .”