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Welcome!!!

This site is for young people, teachers and parents who want information on smokefree.

Smoking remains the single most preventable cause of disease & death workdwide. Over 80% of smokers start in their teens through tobacco experimentation.

Studies show a dramatic increase in smoking between puberty and young adulthood. The early onset of smoking is one of the most important predictors for later smoking and is linked with heavy smoking. There is also a link between daily smoking and the experimentation with other psychoactive substances like marjuana. Recent research shows that first symptoms of tobacco dependence in young people can occur within a few weeks of occasional smoking.6 Many young smokers believe it is possible to stop smoking without help and overestimate the percentage of adolescents who succeed in quitting.7,8 Studies show that young smokers often fail to stop smoking. Therefore it is important that young people are made aware of the risks and dangers of tobacco and the benefits of smokefree.

The Department of Health set a number of targets to reduce smoking prevalence. One of these included reducing smoking rates among teenagers from 13% to 9% by 2010. This was also highlighted in the ‘Every Child Matters’ - ‘be healthy be safe’. In last years young peoples lifestyle survey.
the findings suggest that more male students in Year 7 have tried smoking
than female students. Further analysis shows that smoking rates increased
with age and that females were more likely to be regular smokers when
compared to male. In some areas of Rotherham young people smoke
between 20 and 30 cigarettes a day.

Who Smokes?

There are about 12 million adults in the UK who smoke cigarettes - 28% of men and 24% of women. In Rotherham, 26% of the population smoke. Smoking prevalence has declined over the past 30 years. In 1974, almost half the adult population of the UK smoked - 51% of men and 41% of women.14 This decline however, has been heavily concentrated in older age groups as almost as many young people are taking up smoking but more established smokers are quitting.

• 3 out of 4 children are aware of cigarettes before they reach the age of 5yrs regardless of whether the parents smoke or not.
  
  
• By the age of 11yrs one-third and by the age of 16yrs two thirds of children have experimented with tobacco products.
  
  
• More than 80% of smokers take up the habit as teenagers.
  
  
• 70% start smoking between the ages of 11 and 15yrs.
  
  
• In the U.K about 450 children start smoking every day
  
  
• The younger people start smoking cigarettes; the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine.
  
  
• About 1/5 of Britain's 15 year-olds – 18% of boys and 26% of girls - are regular smokers - despite the fact that it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children aged under 16yrs.
  
  
• Young people are 7 times less likely to smoke if their parents disapprove strongly of smoking even if they themselves smoke.
  
  
• Three out of four children are aware of cigarettes before they reach the age of 5 whether their parents smoke or not.
  
  
• By the age of 11 one-third of children, and by age 16 two-thirds of children have experimented with smoking.
  
  
• In Great Britain about 450 children start smoking every day. Tobacco is the only legally available product which, even when used correctly, harms the users.
  
  
• 20% of women and 32% of men are ex-smokers.

The Good News!!!

Many adults are not smoking any more as smoking is out of fashion but also because many adults who smoke have health problems related to smoking and spend lots and lots of money on cigarettes. There are many ways to support smokers for more information see our help section.