Health bosses will target smokers on Colchester’s Greenstead estate.So, health bosses are spending scarece resources targeting people enjoying a legal activity, are they?
The town’s St Andrews ward is one of six problem areas NHS North Essex Essex is desperate to tackle.
What’s more, an activity which brings in far more money in tax revenues that it ever costs...
Initiatives include giving residents incentives to make a stop-smoking pledge.Tim Young’s effort to bring the ‘deprivation’ excuse into the mix notwithstanding, the demographics certainly are interesting.
Tim Young, ward councillor, speaking at a community meeting in Greenstead, said:“The figures for women smoking during pregnancy are not so good for this area, so I have asked NHS officers to look at the demographics of this.
“We think it is younger age groups that are smoking during pregnancy and people living in deprived wards in the borough.”
According to figures from NHS North East Essex, 19 per cent of people living in Colchester and Tendring smoke.So, lower than the national average? Yet much higher in ‘at risk’ groups?
The national figure is 21 per cent.
A total of 22.5 per cent of pregnant women in north-east Essex smoke.Curious. I wonder what the reason for this is? I expect the experts will assume it's because of 'bad role models' (and will have probably had orgasms at the picture that MummyLongLegs points to here). But surely they exist elsewhere too?
The national average is 14 per cent.
Other public sector workers are similarly spending those so-called 'scarce' resources on this:
Council officials, health bosses and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have joined forces to encourage people to make their homes smoke free.I do like the way they call it a ‘free’ fire safety visit.
The Smoke Free Homes campaign asks householders to promise to turn their homes into healthier places by banning or restricting tobacco smoke.
People who sign up will get a support pack containing information leaflets, smoke-free signs, a certificate and a free fire safety visit.
In what way is it not paid for by taxes, then?
Leg-Iron has some good advice for those sick to death of this state-sponsored bullying.
I actually read the idiot free-rag our Council pukes out this week. There was no news of any cuts, just hundreds of thousands of pounds being saved through 'review'. We have one of these mad anti-smoking agencies too. I had a 'relationship' (joke word) with the team-leader and discovered she still has a fag after certain activities. Corruption at the shock-horror level!
ReplyDeleteI met her when complaining about ex-druggie neighbours' heroin-coke smoke penetrating our walls. The drugs issue was dropped, but the possibility of the ruin of our air by tobacco smoke got them really going.
We think it is younger age groups that are smoking during pregnancy ...
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that's because pregnancy occurs more frequently among younger age groups?
"I had a 'relationship' (joke word) with the team-leader and discovered she still has a fag after certain activities. "
ReplyDelete:D
"I wonder if that's because pregnancy occurs more frequently among younger age groups?"
True, but that's nationwide, I'd guess. If not worldwide... ;)
It doesn't explain the rise in Essesx. Assuming their figures are right.