To consider the report on the Devon Smokefree Alliance Strategy 2023 – 2028.

The Public Health Practitioner for Torbay Council outlined the submitted report which took into account the progress under the last Strategy together with updates and details of the new Strategy which had been launched and which would span the next five years.

The Alliance strategy and plans were based on the national Tobacco Control Plan for England and were informed by local need through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments.

The Board was informed that the Devon Smokefree Alliance was a partnership across Public Health teams, the NHS, Trading Standards, Environmental Health, children’s centres, schools, youth settings, fire services, police, housing, Community Safety Partnerships, and the voluntary sector. The Alliance was committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking in Devon and was a member of the Smokefree Action Coalition.

The partnership of key organisations meant that efforts could be consolidated and activities directed with impacts monitored against emerging issues and trends.

The Board was informed that under the last Strategy which spanned 2018 to 2023, the key areas concentrated on protecting children and young people and reducing inequalities with thought given to creating smoke free organisations, discouraging smoking and finding support for individuals to stop smoking.

The Board was asked to note the key achievements which were:

·         Treating dependents which was part of the NHS long term plan commitment and had provided pathways and resources to supporting pregnant women, for instance, to stop smoking and towards people coming into hospitals who were identified as smokers, encouraging these individuals to stop smoking and ensuring that they were provided with a package of support.  This had taken huge investment and an allied effort and was just the beginning in terms of delivery;

·         Reducing inequalities would always be a priority and it was recognised that the investment of the NHS long term plan was most welcome.  The ‘stop smoking’ services prioritised working with the population affected by health and inequalities and aligned themes to ensure access from different services at different points of time;

·         Supporting a smoke free culture which encouraged working broadly with organisations around the culture of smoking.

The Board heard that:

·         There was some voluntary sector representation within the Alliance itself and how to move that forward would be considered at the next meeting in terms of forming stronger links;

·         There were also environmental challenges around vaping and hopefully there will be greater regulation introduced around minimum pricing.  At present, the way in which vaping devices are manufactured meant that they were not recyclable;

·         There had been a recent systematic review of evidence although there was not a conclusive view on the longer term health implications of vaping;

·         Most young people and children did not seem to think that vaping was harmful or a bad thing and so it was really important to think about how to get the message across that it is not “ok” and should be seen as an aid to quit smoking;

·         There was now national work underway around regulations such as enforcement in respect of access by children and young people;

·         There was a concern that individuals have limited access to support if they only wish to quit either smoking or vaping;

·         There was awareness of ad hoc incidents of illicit vaping but not necessarily local to Torbay;

By consensus Members resolved that:

The report on the new Smokefree Devon Alliance Strategy 2023 – 2028 and

priority areas be noted.