Tobacco Control Plan

Lord Ribeiro Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

I will certainly look at what they are doing in Finland. I was not aware of that, and it is a very ambitious goal. As a former smoker, I have to say I know the benefits both in health terms and in my pocket from reducing smoking. It is essential that we continue on the trajectory of reducing smoking that has been going for a long time. England is a world leader in this area, and we should recognise that. There has been huge success but clearly there is a lot more to do.

[Lord Ribeiro (Con)]

My Lords, in a recent survey the British Thoracic Society found that 72% of hospital patients who smoked were not asked if they wanted to quit. Will my noble friend assure me that the promised tobacco control plan will ensure that hospital patients who smoke will get the support they need to quit?

[Lord O’Shaughnessy]

My noble friend makes an excellent point. Indeed, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has just started a campaign to encourage clinicians to help their patients to stop smoking, and making sure that that happens is clearly going to have benefits for the kind of major surgery that some of the people who are suffering severe effects of smoking will need to have.