“Smoking causes disease and death on a large scale, is the leading cause of cancer and costs the NHS 2.4 billion pounds annually in treatment. But Thérèse Coffey wants to demolish the anti-smoking action plan“. It’s a storm in the UK are Thérèse Coffey, since 6 September Minister of Health of the Truss government and now accused by labor – and not only – of wanting to destroy the government’s anti-smoking plan that sets the ambitious goal of having the whole United Kingdom “smoke-free” by 2030. A goal in which Coffey does not seem to believe at all, given his recent statements. When questioned on the subject, the secretary of health of the British government, who does not disdain cigar and sparkling wine in private life, explained that she did not know anything about the anti-smoking plan because she did not take care of this specific prevention policy, stressing that its priorities are quite different, such as ambulances and waiting lists that plague the national health system. Labor health spokesperson, Wes Streetingaccused Coffey of being “unable and hopeless“.
Controversy over the British Deputy Prime Minister
And it doesn’t stop there. The controversial minister said legislation banning smoking in cars when children are present was probably not “the right thing to do“. Coffey said she voted against the introduction of the law in 2015 because she felt it was not correct to tell parents what to do and impose such behavior. Since she became an MP in 2010, the secretary alla salute voted against all anti-smoking measures, including a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. The government had pledged several times to publish an anti-smoking plan by “the end of the year“but, according to what has emerged in the last few hours, officials aware of the intentions of Minister Coffey have reported to the Guardian who does not intend to honor that promise.
In February Sajid Javid, the then secretary of health, pledged the government for the first time to present an action plan against smoking by the end of 2022. In April Maggie Throup, the then minister of public health, reaffirmed this commitment and timing. She stressed that the plan was crucial in helping the government realize its ambition to make Britain “smoke-free” by 2030 in order to reduce the death toll from smoking. A commitment that, apparently, will not be respected by the new health secretary and deputy prime minister.
How many smokers are there in England
Previous commitments aimed to reduce the percentage of smokers from 14.1% to 5%. Ministers are under pressure to take new measures against smoking, both because the number of people diagnosed with cancer and dying from the disease is on the rise, and because smoking-related diseases are a leading cause of death. avoidable. A recent report points out that in England there are about 6 million smokers surveyed and how many of them are concentrated in the poorest areas of the north, where smokers spend up to 10% of their income on cigarettes against an average of 6% in affluent southern counties. The trend is negative: during the acute phase of the Covid pandemic there was in fact an increase in smokers among young people aged 18 to 24. Changing the course, for British public opinion, is essential.