A South Shields woman who has had cancer caused by smoking three times - and first picked up a cigarette when she was still in primary school - has welcomed a new report calling for the legal age to buy tobacco to be raised.
Sue Mountain, 56, smoked for much of a life, but in 2012 tests revealed she had laryngeal cancer. That's cancer on her vocal cords and is caused by smoking. A decade later, she's had the awful disease three times.
Along with public health leaders around the North East, Sue has backed recommendations from Dr Javed Khan - who released a report yesterday calling for urgent action to "make smoking obsolete". Dr Khan made 15 recommendations which include four "critical" measures for Government.
Read more: Raise smoking age from 18 by a year, every year, until total ban, review finds
These are urgently investing £125m a year in anti-smoking measures, increasing the age limit to buy cigarettes by one year every year, encourage people to switch to vaping and getting the NHS to "prioritise further" stop-smoking support. Sue said: "As someone who’s had smoking-related cancer three times I know the heartbreak that smoking can cause.
"I started when I was a kid, before I realised how addictive it was. I started smoking at primary school. Increasing the age of sale won’t stop everyone smoking but it would help stop a lot of people. The fact is that smoking has killed nearly 8million people in the UK in the last 50 years. Why do we tolerate this? Why aren’t we doing more to stop people dying?"
She said that with tobacco companies making huge profits, "they need to pay for the damage they do". Sue added: "I don't want my grandchildren to go through what I went through. I think my view will be shared by many people who have smoked – it makes you even more concerned your loved ones don't follow. I could have bought half a house with the money I spent on smoking instead of cancer."
The recommendations have also been welcomed by senior public health figures in the region. Dr Ruth Sharrock, a senior respiratory consultant in Gateshead and the NHS lead for tobacco dependency across the North East and North Cumbria said she saw the "devastating effects" of smoking every day.
She added: "Whether it is patients struggling to walk with COPD and emphysema requiring oxygen or outpatients having to be told they have a lung cancer from smoking – the effects are utterly devastating to patients and their families.
"Decade after decade we treat these diseases, but we need more focus on prevention to support smokers to stop and prevent people becoming dependent on tobacco in the first place."
And directors of public health (DPHs) in both County Durham and Gateshead have also shared the importance of the Government using the Khan report as a springboard. Amanda Healy, the DPH in County Durham said: "Smoking has nearly halved since 2005 and that is due to the efforts of our local authorities and NHS to prioritise this in the North East.
"But after Covid we must now recognise smoking is our single biggest killer - the job is not done. We are calling on the Government to take bold new steps to reduce smoking further, stop children from starting and curb the influence of tobacco companies."
Alice Wiseman, who holds the equivalent role in Gateshead also added her own personal story, saying: "My own dad lost his short fight for life aged only 54 as a result of smoking. Sadly my story is far from unique in a life cut short, a family robbed, gaping holes in people’s lives, of missed birthdays, holidays, weddings and graduations and that source of support when days are hard. The time has come when enough means enough."
The Government is now under pressure from campaigners like the Fresh campaign in the North East and MPs to introduce its promised tobacco control plan this year - and ensure it acts fast to meet the target of being "smokefree" by 2030. This would mean less than 5% of people in the country being smokers.
In reaction to the report - which also suggests banning smoking on beaches and in beer gardens, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: "I’m not going to jump ahead and start opining on different recommendations, this is a detailed piece of work which needs to be carefully considered and then we will set out our view."
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