12,000 Suffolk residents diagnosed with smoking-related lung diseases last year

The New Year may have already started, but we are urging the county’s residents to make a resolution to quit smoking after figures from Public Health England revealed almost 12,000 people in Suffolk were diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) last year.

COPD is an umbrella term for serious lung diseases which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking is the biggest preventable risk factor for such conditions, however the early symptoms are often dismissed by smokers as a ‘smoker’s cough’.

In Suffolk, almost 900 people died from COPD between 2012 and 2014. On a national level, 86% of COPD deaths are caused by smoking while over 113,000 emergency hospital admissions in the year 2013-14 were the result of COPD.

Henry Tapp, Team Lead for Live Well Suffolk’s Stop Smoking Service, said: “Quitting smoking is one of the biggest improvements you can make to your health. The symptoms of COPD include breathlessness, a persistent cough and frequent chest infections, but if left untreated and if someone continues to smoke, it can severely affect their health and quality of life.

“Here at Live Well Suffolk we’ve helped thousands of people across the county to successfully quit smoking. We can work with smokers on a one-to-one basis or in a group setting, identify the method of quitting that will suit them best and support them throughout their journey. In fact, you’re four times more likely to quit with our support than you are if you go it alone.”

We also offer a free Quit Kit for smokers who prefer to kick the habit in the privacy of their own home. Meanwhile, for those who are daunted about the prospect of quitting straight away, the service can also support smokers to gradually reduce the amount tobacco they are smoking.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the county, with an estimated one in three people dying every day from smoking-related causes. Despite this, there are still approximately 87,000 people in Suffolk who smoke.

For more information about the range of stop smoking services we provide, or to request a free Quit Kit (not available in Waveney), visit www.livewellsuffolk.org.uk or phone us on 01473 229292.