Public Health England (207) projected that smoking costs the National Health Service £2.5 billion. A study by ASH Action on Smoking and Health (206) that smoking costs Cheshire West and Chester £89.3 million a year, nearly £,673 per smoker per year (Inside Cheshire West and Chester, 207). When reflecting, the latest statistics report by the National Health Service (NHS, 209) showed that throughout 207/208, 4.4% of adults in England smoked to break this down to the Cheshire West and Chester area, approximately 3, 320 people are current smokers. Within Cheshire West and Chester, ½ long-term regular smokers die from smoking and of these, half will die middle-aged (Inside Cheshire West and Chester, 207). Smoking was linked with 778,000 deaths and 489,300 admissions to hospitals in the UK. During 205/6, smoking contributed to ,483 per 00,000 hospital admissions in Cheshire West and Chester. Reflecting on these statistics, it emphasizes how smoking is a significant public
health issue and why lowering the population of smokers would improve public health, as well as lessening preventable admissions and deaths. (GOV.UK, 207). Socio-economic evidence also shows that those who live in more deprived areas of Chester are twice as likely to smoke as well as being less likely to quit (Office for National Statistics, 204). As A Result, those from deprived areas are twice as likely to die from lung cancer (Cancer Research UK, 206). Although there are wide-ranging reasons why individuals smoke, lifestyle factors such as peer pressure, parental influence, stress release, and mental health issues play a key role in this decision (Cunningham.M, 20). When I explored and reflected on a range of local and national interventions designed to empower communities to tackle smoking; evidence by Cheshire Change Hub (2020) It suggests that smokers are four times more likely to quit if they use these support services. Some of the local support available includes: