Smoking rates have decreased year on year across the country. In 1987, 35.3% of all adults in England smoked, but by 2023, that figure had dropped to 11.6%.

However, for people with a serious mental illness, the situation remains concerning with smoking rates remaining steady over the past 20 years at 40.5% The consequences for our service users have been nothing short of catastrophic:

• Life expectancy is reduced by up to 20 years
• Almost two out of three people who smoke long term will die from a smoking related illness
• Increased numbers living with chronic smoking related illnesses
• Many living in tobacco poverty due to the expense of their addiction – making recovery harder to achieve
• Smoking is a major cause of many other health inequalities

What are we doing about this?

We are committed to reducing smoking-related health inequalities, preventable illnesses, and premature deaths.

We have renewed our Smoke Free Policy, which outlines these key responsibilities:

• All of our clinical teams must identify and record the smoking status of every service user under their care
• Our QUIT Team must provide a robust treatment offer for staff and service users who wish to stop smoking
• All buildings and grounds must remain completely smoke-free, and staff must not facilitate smoking through escorted leave

We have also joined numerous NHS and public sector organisations in signing the Smoke-Free Pledge