|
Smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of premature
death and ill health in the United Kingdom; it is a public health priority
and accounts for 106, 000 deaths per year.4 More than 10,000
residents in Yorkshire & the Humber die each year from smoking related
diseases, costing millions in NHS expenditure and severely affecting the
quality of
life in
the region.5 Deaths caused through tobacco use are five times
higher than deaths arising from road traffic accidents, other accidents,
poisoning & overdoses,
alcohol abuse, murders/manslaughter, suicides and AIDS. Secondhand smoke
(SHS) exposure is therefore seen as a controllable and preventable form
of indoor air pollution
4. ASH (2004). Smoking in
the Workplace. Action on Smoking and Health
5. Edwards, Richard. An
Action Plan for Tobacco Control in the Northern & Yorkshire Region,
published 1998
|
