Dementia expert warns smokers to quit

An internationally renowned dementia expert is calling for smokers to quit on World Alzheimer’s Day.
Bob Woods, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology of Older People at Bangor University, has joined forces with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales, to warn smokers of the links between smoking and Alzheimer’s Disease.

He said: “In the UK, it is thought 10% of cases of Alzheimer’s Disease may be attributable to smoking – that’s around 8,000 per annum. The probable mechanism is that smoking increases the risk of heart disease and blood supply problems. Other risk factors for these vascular problems also increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease – diabetes, midlife hypertension, midlife obesity and physical inactivity. These risk factors also increase the risk of developing the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s, known as vascular dementia.”

He went on to say, however, that by giving up smoking the likelihood of ex-smokers developing dementia decreases, explaining: “Studies suggest that the risk for ex-smokers is reduced, and may even be no different from that of non-smokers.”
And, having spent 40 years researching dementia, Professor Woods who was Director of the Dementia Services Development Centre Wales, until his retirement last year, said he would urge smokers to break the habit: “At present there are no cures for dementia, and many of us will have seen loved ones developing the condition and experienced its impact on family and friends as well as on the person with the condition. We can all increase our brain health by our lifestyle choices and reducing the risk of dementia is an additional good reason for breaking the habit.”

According to a 2014 report on tobacco use and dementia published by the World Health Organisation, an estimated 14 per cent of Alzheimer’s Disease cases worldwide are attributable to smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. The report states that supporting tobacco users to quit should be a top priority for the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

Suzanne Cass is Chief Executive Officer of ASH Wales. She said: “We absolutely support the view that it is never too late to make changes to your life and repair some of the damage you’ve done.

“Giving up smoking can be difficult but there is plenty of support out there. You don’t need to do this alone and the benefits of a tobacco free life are enormous – not least a decreased risk of developing dementia, a debilitating condition for which there is no cure.”

Alzheimer’s Society’s Country Director for Wales, Sue Phelps, joined the call for smokers to give up cigarettes and adopt a healthier lifestyle:

“Alzheimer’s Society encourages stopping smoking, as this is thought to reduce the risk of developing dementia back down to the level of non-smokers. It is never too late to adopt healthier lifestyle choices and by avoiding second-hand smoke, people are also likely to help reduce their risk of developing the condition.”

“Two of the most common forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and vascular dementia, are linked to problems with the vascular system. It is known that smoking increases the risk of vascular problems, which may lead to strokes or smaller bleeds in the brain, which are both risk factors for dementia.”

Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, added: “The toxic chemicals in cigarettes can increase oxidative stress and inflammation, which have both been linked to development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Smoking also increases the chance of developing other health conditions like type 2 diabetes, which in turn elevate the likelihood of dementia.

“Alongside not smoking, the best current evidence to keep your brain healthy as you age is to drink within the recommended guidelines, stay physically fit, eat a balanced diet, and keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in check.”

If you are a smoker and would like to quit, ASH Wales offers great tips on how to get started. Visit the ASH Wales website www.ash.wales to get friendly advice from other quitters as well as daily tips and motivation. Help Me Quit is run by NHS Wales and will help you to find the stop smoking service that best suits you. Contact them on 0808 278 6119 or visit www.helpmequit.wales

More Smokers Are Ditching Tobacco For Healthier E-cigarettes

A total of 7% of Welsh adults are vaping and latest figures show the vast majority have quit or are trying to quit smoking. Figures released today by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) also reveal a third of smokers have yet to even try vaping.

Findings from the YouGov survey of 12,000 British adults show the majority of current e-cigarette users, 52%, are ex-smokers, 44% are currently still smoking and only 4% of e-cigarette users have never smoked.

However, many smokers are being put off from trying an e-cigarette due to a lack of knowledge about the products and the benefits of switching.

Public perceptions around e-cigarettes remain inaccurate with almost a quarter of the population thinking e-cigarettes are as harmful or more harmful than tobacco.

A recent report by Westminster MPs stated there is clear evidence e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than conventional cigarettes and the UK government was missing an opportunity with e-cigarettes to help smokers quit.

There are more than 470,000 smokers in Wales and over 5,000 people die every year because of a smoking related illness. Smoking rates in the most deprived areas remain stubbornly high at 28% and the financial burden of being a smoker increases year-on-year.

Suzanne Cass, Chief Executive Officer of ASH Wales, said: ”We need to do all we can to help the 40% of smokers that try to give up every year, succeed. If you smoke the best thing you can do is to quit altogether, but if you can’t then switching to an e-cigarette could save your life.

”We have fantastic free stop smoking services in Wales who can help you whether you’re a smoker who vapes or someone who just wants to quit. Getting the right support is a crucial part of that stop smoking journey.

”Misconceptions about e-cigarettes could be stopping many smokers from starting that journey.”

She went on to say that the results of the survey are encouraging: ”We welcome the results of the survey which show that the vast majority of e-cigarette users are either smokers or ex-smokers using vaping to replace or cut down on conventional cigarettes. Evidence shows e-cigarettes are a highly effective smoking cessation tool and we must do all we can to spread this message among those smokers who have yet to try them.”

Help Me Quit is the national smoking cessation service run by NHS Wales and helps smokers to find the service that suits them best. To find out more visit www.ash.wales/who-can-help-me/

ASH Wales Chair, John Griffiths, steps down after 30 years in tobacco control

Three decades of working in tobacco control is not achieved without notching up a few battle scars along the way.

Our Chair John Griffiths retires from ASH Wales today after more than 30 years of dedicated service.  John’s versatility of character has led to him being appointed to every position possible on our board. His commitment, integrity and knowledge meant the trustees could not let him go and in 2012 he was ‘invited’ back from retirement to ‘give the charity just one more year’. Thankfully John chose to stay.

When John first joined the charity he had his work cut out, 30% of the population were smoking including 20% of 15-year-old girls and 16% of 15-year-old boys.  The tobacco epidemic was out of control.  In 1984, to stem the tide of young people taking up this deadly habit, the infamous “No Smoking Day” was launched on ASH Wednesday. This national campaign was in media terms ‘massive’ and over the years became a day that made every smoker in the country think about their habit. It was brought about by a collection of organisations run through a committee chaired by John for several years.

In tandem the Government, supported by ASH and its third sector partners, took action and banned the sale of all tobacco products to under 16’s….and over the next few years a raft of policies designed to protect children followed.

TV advertising was banned, they stopped smokers from lighting up on planes, health warnings were made bigger and more hard hitting.

But still the tobacco epidemic spread like cancer through our communities, ten years later in 1998 smoking rates among children hit an all time high. 29% of all 15-year-old girls and 21% of all 15-year-old boys were now smoking. The effects of these astronomically high smoking rates would blight the health of the nation for decades.

More needed to be done, we needed more campaigns, a unified approach and government support.

John helped to galvanise this support on an international scale: working for the World Health Organisation Euro on issues around smoke free workplaces training and bringing together like-minded people. Education, health and workplace services have been at the heart of everything that John has done and continues to do.

Eventually, with leadership from Euro and the tobacco control framework, tobacco controls began to be tightened. The tobacco companies finally started to feel the squeeze as prices were hiked, advertising in sport was banned and sponsorship was censored. Bigger warnings, better education and increased controls eventually led to the number of young people smoking starting to fall.  In 2006 the number of 15-year-old girls smoking had fallen to 23% and boys down to 12%.

But the most significant change in tobacco control was still to be implemented. The banning of smoking in public enclosed space has been the biggest contributor to tobacco control in a generation. The battle to get the legislation was a fierce one, the tobacco companies fought it tooth and nail claiming it would drive smokers from the pubs into their homes and more children would be exposed to second-hand smoke.  But John, ASH Wales and a steady line of tenacious Assembly Members led the charge and in 2005 a welsh cross-party Committee on Smoking in Public Places concluded that ‘there is overwhelming evidence that environmental tobacco smoke is damaging to health and there is no evidence that the introduction of a ban would have an overall negative impact on the economy’.

In April 2007 the ban comes into force – ten years later the ban has led to a step change in the way smokers behave particularly around children. The number of those who smoke in the home has reduced from 80% to 46%, suggesting a massive cultural shift.  The number of smokers in Wales has fallen by nearly 100,000. We are indeed a much healthier nation.

As a former teacher John’s passion in tobacco control has always been about educating children. Through John’s work with the Healthy Schools programme he has ensured the harms associated with tobacco use are firmly on the agenda. In the launch of the new Tobacco Control Action Plan for Wales the Public Health Minister, Rebecca Evans, directly referred to the scheme and its contribution to prevention; promising a review of the tobacco criteria within these national quality awards.

There is much still to be done, smoking prevalence for the unemployed stands at over 40%, 33% of people with mental ill health are still smoking and 16% of women smoke throughout their pregnancy. But overall rates are falling especially amongst young people with just 8.5 % of teenagers now smoking. This reduction is something to be proud of.

John will be sorely missed at ASH Wales and we will be forever in his debt for the contributions that he has made and the changes he has supported. We wish him well and hope that he enjoys continuing to follow our work as we continue the fight for a smoke-free Wales.

Suzanne Cass, Chief Executive Officer of ASH Wales

To find out more about what has happened since the smoking ban  visit www.ash.wales.

Stop smoking and you’ll be 32 per cent less likely to develop vascular dementia, claim scientists

The latest report from a team of Korean scientists linking smoking to an increased risk of developing dementia makes alarming reading.
According to the researchers from Seoul National University smokers have a 20 per cent greater risk of developing dementia in later life than non-smokers.

The study followed the lives of 46,140 men aged over 60 for 11 years and found that the non-smokers among them had a 19 per cent lower risk of suffering dementia and a 29 per cent lower chance of developing vascular dementia.

However, the report, which was published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, also highlights the enormous benefits of quitting smoking and offers new hope to those planning to kick the habit.
While it highlights the risk of developing dementia it also shows that stopping smoking can significantly lower that risk, even for long term smokers.

The scientists found that those who smoked but recently quit had a 14 per cent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s in later life.  Quitters also had a 32 per cent reduced chance of developing vascular dementia.

As quoted in the Sun newspaper, Dr Sang Min Park of Seoul National University in Korea, said: “Smoking cessation was clearly linked with a reduced dementia risk in the long term, indicating that smokers should be encouraged to quit in order to benefit from this increased risk.”

The links between smoking and the risk of developing dementia are well established. The World Alzheimer’s Report 2014 looked at the findings from 14 studies and found a statistically significant increased risk of dementia in current smokers compared to those who have never smoked. Meanwhile the 2017 Lancet Commission on dementia risk listed smoking as one of the nine modifiable risk factors behind the condition. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, other reviews have estimated that smoking carries with it a 30 to 50 per cent increased risk of developing dementia.

If you are a smoker and would like to quit, ASH Wales offers great tips on how to get started.  Visit the ASH Wales website www.ash.wales to get friendly advice from other quitters as well as daily tips and motivation.  Help Me Quit is run by NHS Wales and will help you to find the stop smoking service that best suits you.  Contact them on 0808 278 6119 or visit www.helpmequit.wales

ASH Wales Welcomes MP’s Calls for E-Cigarettes to be Embraced as a Cessation Tool

The Westminster Select Committee report published today (17/08/2016) states the UK “Government is missing an opportunity with e-cigarettes” to help smokers quit.

The report says there is clear evidence e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than conventional cigarettes and should not be treated in the same way.

It calls for an improved process to speed up the licensing of e-cigarettes as medicines which could support the switch from smoking to vaping for thousands of would-be quitters.

ASH Wales Chief Executive, Suzanne Cass, said: “We hope Welsh Government and key policy makers will take note of these findings. It is essential that smokers are given access to the full range of quit smoking products and that health care professionals are fully informed about the harms and benefits of using an e-cigarette.

“We must do all we can to ensure smokers are made aware of the evidence that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than cigarettes and are a viable and less risky alternative to smoking. The licencing of e-cigarettes could help inform public opinion and make it easier for medical professionals to be able to recommend the use of this product and significantly help those on low incomes and with high levels of addiction.”

The report also states that concerns about the risk of e-cigarettes potentially providing a ‘gateway’ into conventional smoking have not materialised to any significant degree. Similarly, the risk of the variety and type of flavours being attractive to young non-smokers, who would be drawn into e-cigarette use, also appears to be negligible.

However, ASH has some concerns over calls in the report for a review of the advertising restrictions which would potentially allow the tobacco companies to place adverts for e-cigarettes inside cigarette packs. ASH believes the control of any such advertising should be created by public health professionals rather than the tobacco industry.

George Butterworth, from Cancer Research UK, said any changes to current e-cigarette regulations “should be aimed at helping smokers to quit whilst preventing young people from starting to use e-cigarettes”.

A recent study in Wales, published in the BMJ, showed that the experimentation with e-cigarettes amongst young people is on the increase, however regular use remains low. The report also found the vast majority of weekly smokers who had tried tobacco and e-cigarettes reported they tried tobacco before using an e-cigarette.

ENDS

Notes for editors

References:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/news-parliament-2017/e-cigarettes-report-publication-17-19/

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/2/e012784

Swansea’s Langland Bay Goes Smokefree in Rolling Programme to Improve Beaches

One of Swansea’s most visited coastal bays has become Wales’ third smokefree beach.

Langland Bay, a Blue Flag and Seaside Awards-winning site, will be the second beach in Swansea to have a voluntary smoking ban in place. Swansea Council launched a successful pilot ban at Caswell Bay in 2016, which resulted in a reduction in litter levels across the area,

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world and can take up to 12 years to decompose as they are made from plastic fibres. Toxins from tobacco residue in the butts pollutes waterways and poses a danger to animals who often mistake them for food.

Swansea and Neath Port Talbot have some of the highest smoking rates in Wales. On average 19% Welsh adults smoke, however, in Swansea this is 20% and neighbouring Neath Port Talbot has the highest rate in the country at 24%.

Mark Child, Cabinet Member for Care, Health and Ageing Well, said: “The launch of a smokefree beach at Caswell Bay has been a great success.

“There has been a noticeable reduction in cigarette litter at the beach which tells us that those visiting the beach are getting on board with the health campaign, and the beach environment has improved.

“The aim is to encourage adults not to light-up at the beach because of the damage it does to health and the potential bad habits it might encourage children to get involved.

“We don’t have powers to ban smoking at beaches. This is a voluntary initiative where we are asking the public to support it.

“We now feel we are able to look at rolling out smokefree beaches at other locations and Langland Bay is a good place to start.”

Suzanne Cass, Chief Executive of ASH Wales, said: “Beaches should be a clean, smokefree place for everyone to play, take part in sport and enjoy, so moving smoking away from our beaches is a step in the right direction.

“We surveyed 125 school children on Swansea Bay beach last week and 88% said it makes them sad to have adults smoking near them, and worryingly 88% also said they thought smoking was common”

“Shockingly almost half of long-term smokers become addicted before leaving high school and this is why it is so important we protect children from second-hand smoke and ensure they see less people smoking.”

Last week Swansea Bay beach played host to Ospreys in the Community and 350 primary school children who helped launch a Smokefree Sport initiative, supported by tobacco control charity ASH Wales.