Tobacco free Luton
We welcome the government's significant October announcement to create a smokefree generation
This announcement was accompanied by the publication of the command paper ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’.
By 2028 we aim to reduce smoking rates from 14.1 per cent of Luton’s population to under 10 per cent
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of ill health and death in our society. Tobacco use affects every aspect of society. Beyond the detrimental effects on health, tobacco also plays a role in poverty, deprivation and health inequality in Luton. Every year:
- the average smoker in Luton spends nearly £2500 on tobacco
- over 1,500 people in Luton are admitted to hospital with smoking-related illnesses
- smokers in Luton create 18 tonnes of waste from consumed and discarded cigarettes
Tobacco free Luton is an alliance of partners who are working together to:
- prevent the next generation of smokers
- support every smoker to quit
- tackling Illegal products: tobacco, vapes and shisha
- promote smokefree environments and policy
Support to quit
Every time you quit, you’re a step closer to success
Did you know it takes the average smoker 30 quit attempts to succeed? Every time you make a quit attempt you’re a step closer to success. Plus, you’re more likely to stop smoking for good if you join forces with a friend or partner, and three times more likely with support from Total Wellbeing Luton: stop smoking service .
If you live, work or are registered with a GP in Luton they can offer you a free 12 week programme which includes:
- nicotine replacement therapy
- electronic cigarettes
- expert support and online groups for motivation
Make your next quit attempt the one where you quit for good!
Text Quit to 60066
Tel: 0300 555 4152
Email: Total Wellbeing Luton
The hidden harms
Quitting smoking is about more than your health, it’s about the health of your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and bank balance.
Second hand smoke is the smoke you breathe out and the smoke from your lit cigarette.
- the smoke from one cigarette can linger in a room for up to three hours, even with the window or door open
- secondhand smoke particles are so small that 85 per cent of them are invisible and odourless
- second hand smoke contains poisons that are harmful to other members of your household and visitors
- every year about 9500 children are hospitalised due to exposure to second hand smoke
- children exposed to second hand smoke are more at risk of coughs, colds, ear problems and chest infections
The only way to protect your friends and family from secondhand smoke is to keep the environment around them smoke free. The best way to do this is to quit, but if you’re not ready to quit always smoke outside, away from others, and ask visitors to do the same.
The average smoker spends £50 per week on tobacco, with many Luton residents being in driven in to poverty as a result of smoking. Stopping smoking will allow you to take back control of your health and bank balance.
Total Wellbeing Luton can help with free advice, one-to-one support, and treatment .
Carbon monoxide is especially risky to pregnant women, babies and children. It is found in cigarette smoke, including breathing in second hand smoke. Inhaling carbon monoxide starves the body of oxygen which is needed for your baby's growth and development in the womb.
Stopping smoking during pregnancy brings immediate health benefits to you and your baby and reduces:
- Complications during pregnancy, labour and birth
- Stillbirth
- Premature birth and babies being born underweight
- Cot death
You're up to three times more likely to succeed with expert advice and support. Total Wellbeing Lutonwho are ready when you are!
E-cigarettes and vaping
An e-cigarette is a device that allows you to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke.
E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most damaging elements in tobacco smoke. They work by heating a liquid (called an e-liquid) that typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and flavourings.
Using an e-cigarette is known as vaping. In recent years, e-cigarettes have become a very popular stop smoking aid in the UK. Also known as vapes or e-cigs, they're far less harmful than cigarettes, and can help you quit smoking for good.
They are not recommended for non-smokers. If you don’t smoke, don’t start to vape.
Since 2021 there has been a dramatic rise in the number of children and young people who vape due to the availability cheap, disposable e-cigarettes known as vape bars.
E-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than tobacco, and are now the most effective way for smokers to quit, but they’re not risk-free. More research is needed on how long-term vaping can affect lungs and overall health. They can also lead to nicotine addiction in you people which can cause problems with brain development, sleep and concentration.
ResoLUTiONs - Luton Is a service offers help for people under 25 in Luton who are struggling with alcohol and/or drug use, including vaping.
It is illegal for shops to sell e-cigarettes to people under 18 years old. Please use the link below to report any retailers who are selling e-cigarettes or tobacco products to under 18s
For more information please visit the Keep it out website
Advertising of all tobacco products is illegal, but if you see advertising for vapes that you feel is trying to encourage children and young people to try vaping, you can report it to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Campaigns and initiatives
Our aim is to reduce smoking rates to under 10 per cent by 2028. To achieve this the Tobacco Free Luton partners will:
- prevent the next generation of smokers
- support every smoker to quit
- tackle Illegal products: tobacco; vapes and shisha
- promote smokefree environments and policy
For a number of years schools have had a smokefree policy in place that covers the buildings and grounds. But what about the school gates and site entrances?
Luton Council’s protecting little lungs campaign aims to protect children from the harms of secondhand smoke by discouraging parents, carers and teachers from smoking near the schools gates and supporting them to quit. We also want to ensure that the use of e-cigarettes (vapes) is made less visible at the school gates.
The campaign aims to:
- reduce exposure to secondhand smoke
- reduce visibility of smoking and vaping
- reduce cigarette-related litter
- support parents, carers and teachers who want to quit
The campaign will include a competition for children to design a banner for their school gates, with a chance to win a prize for themselves and their school.
We are committed to supporting every smoker to quit and reducing the barriers to accessing that support. Tenants living in social housing form one of the priority groups for Luton’s tobacco control strategy.
- In Luton the smoking rate for tenants living in social housing is 1.8 times higher than the general population and 3.4 times higher than someone with a mortgage or owning their house outright
- 10,788 adults and 4313 children live in smoking households that fall below the poverty line after smoking costs.
Most tenants want to quit, but find it harder due to higher levels of addition, stress due to hardship and higher rates of smoking amongst their friends and family.
The financial burden that smoking places on social housing tenants is great. By supporting tenants to quit we can help improve their physical, mental and financial health.
We will support our social housing tenants by:
- providing a new Toolkit that will help them on their quit journey
- better publicising our stop smoking service
- increasing accessibility to our stop smoking clinics
- ensuring our staff are trained to offer brief advice to smokers about quitting and signposting to our stop smoking service
If you or someone you know lives in social housing and would like support to quit contact Total Wellbeing Luton can help with free advice, one-to-one support, and treatment including e-cigarettes.
Text 2SAVE to 60066
Tel: 0300 555 4152
Email: Total Wellbeing Luton
Social housing toolkits
The information you provide will enable Luton Public Health to measure the reach of the toolkit, and monitor how many people in Luton are signing the pledge.
A winner will be drawn from the first 50 individuals who complete a smoke free home pledge and contacted by email.
To complete the pledge form, select the button below.
Smoke free spaces
As part of our five-year tobacco control strategy we are committed to protecting our residents from the harms of second hand smoke. Smoke that it’s breathed out by a smoker and smoke from the end of a lit cigarette. We will also work with employers to ensure that their staff have access to support to quit.
In a joint initiative between Luton Council, Total Wellbeing Luton and Luton Mall, smokefree areas have been created around the exterior of the Mall. The areas are part of a town-wide campaign to support people to give up smoking and reduce the harms from second-smoke.
People exposed to second-hand smoke face the same dangers as smokers themselves and children are particularly vulnerable. They too inhale the same poisonous gases and thousands of toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Their risk of developing smoking-related diseases will also increase.
The smokefree mall entrances are an important step in helping Luton’s smokers get the support they need to quit, and ensure people can visit the Mall without exposing themselves to second-hand smoke.
Whatever size the business is, there are real benefits from investing in the health of employees:
- increased productivity at work
- reduced sickness absence
- improved staff morale
- pleasant working environment
- good corporate image
Getting the right support makes a difference. Total Wellbeing Luton offers free counselling and support to anyone who wants to quit smoking.
To protect children from the dangers of second-hand smoke, it is illegal to smoke in cars or vehicles with someone under the age of 18 present. It is also against the law for a driver not to stop someone smoking in these circumstances.
The new law applies to any private vehicle enclosed by a roof, even if the window is open, the air conditioning is on or the smoker is sitting in the open doorway of the vehicle.
Drivers and their passengers, found to be breaking the law, are liable for a £50 fine.
Read our Smokefree legislation for more information.
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