Did you quit on No Smoking Day? (From This Is Cheshire)

Did you quit on No Smoking Day?

4:40pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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TO mark No Smoking Day on Wednesday the Guardian spoke to Warrington Hospital respiratory consultant Dr Steve Owen.

He explained how most smoking-related diagnoses were linked to air flow obstruction, the most common being chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The hospital has two wards with 67 beds to deal with cases such as COPD and an outpatient clinic that sees five new patients and 20 follow ups three times a week.

Dr Owen said: “COPD is very common on our wards and among our outpatients.

“More than 80 per cent of COPD is smoking-related. Symptoms include breathlessness and people with COPD may find it hard to climb stairs or do gardening.”

On Wednesdays Dr Owen, one of three respiratory consultants at the hospital, sees people with lung cancer and roughly 90 per cent of those cases will be linked to cigarette use.

Dr Owen and his team carry out bronchoscopies and X-rays once a week which can help detect cancer by seeking out abnormalities and all potential cases are discussed in detail.

He added: “Lung cancer is obviously a very distressing condition and we can’t stress enough that people should not smoke or to quit if they do.

“Symptoms of lung cancer include coughing up blood, a change in someone’s cough and breathlessness.

“From 2004 to 2006 in Warrington there were 360 new lung cancer registrations.

“Studies show that if you smoke all your adult life you lose approximately 10 years of life compared to a non-smoker.

“That cigarettes are even sold is crazy. Why can people buy a product that leads to death in half those who use them?

“Someone once remarked that cigarettes are the most dangerous consumer product on the market and I agree. In an ideal world they would never be manufactured.

“The problem is the tobacco industry generates a lot of money – sales reached £11.3 billion in the UK last year.

“This is recouped by the Government through taxation so there is clearly a problem. The Government gets a lot of money through taxation but one of their health priorities is to encourage people to stop smoking, which is a conflict of interest.”

In the UK the rate of lung disease has been increasing nearly three times faster among women than men and lung function among women can worsen by smoking less for a shorter period than it can with men.

In addition, 10 to 15 per cent of smokers over the age of 60 will come to hospital with pneumonia.

Dr Owen hopes No Smoking Day will help raise awareness of information like this.

Dr Owen said: “We have good services to help people quit. Even if people aren’t successful first time round we encourage them to keep trying.”

For more advice call Warrington Stop Smoking Service on 843713.