08 March 2023 - No Smoking Day
2021 was a year of change for many; a year that started amidst a national lockdown and coined the term “the new normal”. In Manchester, 2021 will be remembered by many as being the year they achieved a significant lifestyle change: to be smoke-free, for good.
According to recently published data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Manchester’s smoking prevalence decreased from 21.4% in 2020 to 16.8% in 2021. This is the biggest decrease we have seen here in the last 10 years! Whilst smoking has steadily been decreasing nationally, Manchester had seen an increase in smoking in 2019 and 2020’s data. To have reversed this trend in 2021, only 12 months after Be Smoke Free commenced, is a huge success! Smoking prevalence in Manchester is now within 4% of England’s rate (13%). In 2011, this gap was 10%.
Something is clearly working in Manchester… The launch of the Be Smoke Free service in April 2020 can surely be no coincidence. After just 2 years, the team are exceeding the national average quit rates achieving 60.6% for April to June 2022 and 62.6% for July to Sep 2022. This represents the amount of people who were still in service and still smoke free 4 weeks after their initial quit date. By comparison, the national average for smoking services was 54.8% as of March 2022 (latest data is not yet ready for release).
Charlotte Brien, Nurse Manager of Be Smoke Free Manchester
So, what is it that’s working so well for Manchester?
Back when the service launched in April 2020 as a small team of three nurses, Be Smoke Free also recruited a designated Community Engagement Lead. This has brought the service to people who may have found it harder to access support, building strong links with LGBT Foundation, offering a refugee clinic at Manchester Airport and attending mental health day centres. Delivering Very Brief Advice intervention training within workplaces, to help employers raise awareness of the negative effects of smoking to employees, has forged networks with organisations which continue to bring smokers to the service for support.
Being a nurse-led service, the team can use their medical expertise to offer a wider range of treatments and products. This increases the chance that a client will find the option that works best for them, without delay, as these products are supplied directly without need for a prescription. Free vapes and liquids are a key part of the treatment offer – when these were introduced in Autumn 2021, quit rates increased from 45.6% to 54% in one quarter.
The team are committed to taking a flexible approach to clinics, which can be undertaken via phone call or via digital means, rather than requiring a face-to-face appointment. Be Smoke Free actively remove the barriers to quit smoking and will adapt to the needs of the diverse communities that they serve, including homeless populations who can struggle to access required support without a home address.
The positive impact that Be Smoke Free Manchester have made is a credit to the hard work and dedication of their small team. With referral numbers and quit rates increasing each year, it is exciting to think what impact this will have on Manchester’s smoking prevalence data by next year!