§ Mr. ArbuthnotTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect on health outcomes of smoking in the last five years, broken down by region. [59792]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 June 2002]The information is not available in the form requested. In 'The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995' (published by the Health Education Authority, 1998) it was estimated that in the United Kingdom in 1995, smoking caused more than 120,000 deaths of people aged 35 years or more; one in five deaths at all ages. Men of 35 who smoke will, on average, die seven years earlier than men who have never been smokers. Similarly, women of 35 who smoke will, on average, die six years earlier than women who have never been smokers. As well as being the prime cause of cancer and heart disease, smoking also causes other fatal conditions and chronic illnesses among adults.
In 'Smoking Kills' published in 1998, the Government set out a comprehensive programme to tackle smoking. A key element of this programme has been the development of smoking cessation services which were launched in the health action zones in 1999–2000, and were rolled out to all health authorities in England in 2000–01 and 2001–02.
Regional prevalence data shows how the burden of smoking has varied over the past five years. Table 1 shows a regional breakdown of the prevalence of smokers among adults aged 16 and over. Table 2 details by region the number of people who had successfully quit at the four week follow-up and rates per 100,000 population for April to December 2001. Table 3 illustrates the regional variations in coronary heart disease. Table 4 illustrates the regional variation in cancer mortality.
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>Table 1: Prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults aged 16 and over, by standard region, 1996 to 2000 Per cent. Weighted Standard Region 1996 1998 1998 2000 England 28 27 28 27 North 31 27 28 28 Yorkshire and Humberside 28 28 29 28 North West 30 31 32 30 West Midlands 26 26 27 25
>Table 1: Prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults aged 16 and over, by standard region, 1996 to 2000 Per cent. Weighted Standard Region 1996 1998 1998 2000 East Midlands 28 28 29 26 East Anglia 25 22 23 26 Greater London 29 30 31 27 Outer Metropolitan Area 25 24 25 25 Outer South East 28 South West 27 24 25 27 Notes:
1. Data for 1998 and 2000 weighted for under representation in some groups (eg young men). Comparisons for 1996 and 1998 should be done on unweighted data: comparisons between 1998 and 2000 should be done on weighted data.
Source:
Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey1.
>Table 2: People successfully quitting during the period April to December 2001 and success rate per 100,000 population aged 16 and over (based on self-report), by NHS regional office area NHS regional office area Number of people who had successfully quit of four weeks (self-report) Per 100,000 population 1 England 79,051 198 Northern Yorkshire 19,518 385 Trent 6,866 166 Eastern 6,453 148 London 6,271 107 South East 6,801 97 South West 8,092 201 West Midlands 9,602 227 North West 15,448 295 1 Number of people who had successfully quit at four weeks (self-report) per 100,000 population aged 16 and over.
Notes:
1. A client is counted as having successfully quit smoking at the four week follow-up if he/she has not smoked at all since two weeks after the quit date. The figures presented here are based on self-report of smoking status by the client at the four week follow-up.
2. The population rates in this table have been calculated using the 1991 census based population estimates of persons aged 16 and over for mid year 2000 (provided by the Office for National Statistics).
Source:
DH Statistical press release: Statistics on smoking cessation services in Health Authorities England, April to December 2001
>Table 3: Trends in mortality from coronary heart disease (ICD410–414): standardised mortality ratios (SMR) 1995 to 2000 annually, all ages, by Government office region (standard rates are age-specific mortality rates in 1993) Government office region 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 England 89 86 81 78 74 69 North East 107 104 99 97 88 82 North West 103 98 93 92 86 79 Yorkshire and the Humber 96 94 90 88 80 75 East Midlands 89 86 81 79 75 68 West Midlands 95 91 86 81 79 73 East of England 80 78 73 72 67 64 London 84 80 73 71 68 65 South East 78 75 71 68 64 61 South West 81 79 74 72 69 66 Source:
Department of Health: Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators 2001
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>Table 3: Trends in mortality from coronary heart disease (ICD410–414): standardised mortality ratios (SMR) 1995 to 2000 annually, all ages, by Government office region (standard rates are age-specific mortality rates in 1993) Government office region 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 England 97 96 94 93 91 89 North East 112 114 109 111 105 103 North West 104 105 102 101 100 98 Yorkshire and the Humber 100 100 97 97 95 91 East Midlands 96 94 92 91 89 87 West Midlands 99 97 94 94 91 90 East Of England 92 90 88 88 85 84 London 96 95 93 93 88 86 South East 92 91 89 88 86 84 South West 91 89 88 86 86 84 Source:
Department of Health: Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators 2001