7:01pm Friday 18th July 2008
By Joanna Codd
PUBLIC health experts in Dorset say a fall in the number of smokers in the county is helping to drive a huge drop in early deaths from Britain's biggest killers.
A new report by the independent Healthcare and Audit Commission found that the government's ambitious public health programme has helped improve life expectancy and reduce the death rate from the two disease groups.
Deaths in under-75s from circulatory problems such as heart attacks and strokes fell by 45 per cent, and deaths from cancer by 15 per cent across England in the decade to 2006.
Although smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and early death, the number of smokers has shown a marked drop.
An estimated 400,000 have kicked the habit nationally in the last year alone, since the start of the smoking ban.
Rachel Partridge, consultant in public health at Dorset Primary Care Trust, said much of the improvement in health could be attributed to people giving up smoking.
"Treatment is better, but the main factor is smoking, which is remarkable.
Fifty per cent of smokers die prematurely, and a large amount of that is related to heart disease, circulatory disease and cancer," she said.
Adrian Dawson, public health director for Bournemouth and Poole, said the area's figures for cancer and circulatory diseases were better than the national average.
"There have been significant falls here, particularly among circulatory diseases. We think it's people giving up smoking and the use of heart disease drugs called statins."
Dr Dawson said nearly 3,000 people had used Bournemouth and Poole PCT's stop smoking service in the last financial year, and many more had quit without the help of the NHS.
"I have a feeling that the smoking rates may be down to 23 per cent from about 26 per cent," he said.
"That could translate into more than 9,000 people giving up."
The national report warns that the gains made could be cancelled out by alcohol and obesity.
England has the fastest-growing rate of childhood obesity in western Europe, with a third of schoolchildren overweight.
Deaths associated with drinking alcohol have also doubled among men and risen by 80 per cent in women in the 15 years to 2006. Both the PCTs in Dorset are working with local authorities and other agencies to try and reverse the trends.
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