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Help People Stop Smoking, UCF Urges Government
By Eilish Martin, 6/21/2002 11:33:16 AM
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The Ulster Cancer Foundation has welcomed the Chancellor?s Budget decision to increase the price of a packet of cigarettes by 6p - and it says the Government should now spend more money on helping people to quit smoking.
At present, only 0.6p (point 6p) of every pound of tobacco duty is spent on stop-smoking services and education about the dangers of tobacco.
The charity says the figure should be increased to 2p of every pound ? and that the increase would still mean only £152 million being taken from the £7.6 billion raised each year in the UK through duty.
Gerry McElwee, UCF head of cancer prevention, said: ?We believe the Government is morally bound to do more to help people quit smoking.
?Just 2p in the pound is hardly an excessive sum ? and it would save the NHS billions by reducing expensive treatments for diseases caused by tobacco.?
Statistics show that while the number of Northern Ireland men smoking has fallen from 31% to 26% in the last five years, the number of women smokers has increased, from 27% to 28%.
Mr McElwee said the problem was particularly worrying among women on low income, with as many as 50% smoking regularly.
?There has also been a big increase in smoking among 15 and 16-year-old girls, with 34% of them smoking regularly compared with 18% of boys in the same age group,? he said.
Every year in Northern Ireland, smoking causes around 3,000 deaths from cancer and other illnesses.
UCF services to help people beat the weed include a helpline (028 9066 3281), a stop smoking group, help from nurse counsellors and support leaflets. There are also training programmes for health professionals ? such as doctors, dentists and nurses ? who want to help smokers to quit.
People wanting to become non-smokers can also take encouragement from the fact that the widest ever range of aids is now available, including lozenges, patches, gum and inhalers.
For further information please contact Gerry McElwee on 028 9066 3281
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