NHS Lanarkshire’s new tobacco control strategy – ‘Smoke-free Lanarkshire – for you, for children, forever’- aims to protect children’s health, tackle inequalities and reduce smoking in Lanarkshire from just over 21% to 11% over the next five years.

Currently 130,000 adults living in Lanarkshire are smokers, with the majority living in our most deprived areas. Tobacco remains the primary preventable cause of ill health and premature death, impacts negatively on household incomes and the economy and remains the largest cause of household fires in the UK.

The new strategy looks to the future, with a vision is to create a society for children which is smoke-free and where adults are positive anti-tobacco role models, whether they smoke or not.

Dr Harpreet Kohli, Director of Public Health and Health Policy, NHSL, said, “People from deprived areas are almost twice as likely to smoke compared to those in less deprived areas. Tobacco use contributes to the cycle of deprivation, affecting the health and wellbeing of our children and prevents them from reaching their full potential. That’s why tackling inequality is a key theme of the strategy with a focus on targeting communities at greatest risk of unequal health outcomes.”

Developed following consultation with communities, key partners, staff and young people across Lanarkshire, the strategy launches this May and will be available on FirstPort.