Since 2016 Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust has been a smoke-free Trust. This means that all staff, service receivers and visitors are not be allowed to smoke anywhere on our sites - including wards, grounds, vehicles and during home visits. As a result we are providing cleaner and healthier environments to everyone involved with the Trust.
Smoking: The Facts
Smoking is the main cause of preventable illness and premature death in the United Kingdom. Currently, around 16% of the adult population smoke and tobacco kills almost 100,000 people every year. Smoking costs society in England £13 billion every year.
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, two out of every five cigarettes in England are smoked by people with mental health problems. People with a mental illness who smoke, are more likely to be heavier smokers and more tobacco dependent than smokers in the general population. Often smoking leads to a poorer physical health and a lower life expectancy.
Smoking cigarettes can also increase how quickly some anti-psychotics are broken down by the body, meaning that people who smoke heavily may need more medication than those who do not.
It doesn't have to be this way and at Derbyshire Healthcare and we want to discourage smoking with smoke-free environments across all of our sites. We firmly believe in and agree with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance which recommends that all hospital sites, including mental health hospitals, should be free from smoke.
Smoking Cessation Support
Our staff receive training so that they are fully equipped to offer the people under our care with the best smoking cessation advice and a full package of support.
Support services are available locally to help people who wish to reduce their smoking habits, quit permanently, or prepare to go smoke-free for a period of time. These services include:
Support is also available on our live well: stop smoking section. Alternatively, please visit the national smoke-free website for more information.
Your Feedback: Share Your Views
Whilst we're on this journey we would like to learn from others and hear your feedback and views about becoming a smoke-free Trust. So if you are a smoker or non-smoker and would like to share your thoughts with us, please email dhcft.smokefree@nhs.net.
Click here to visit Live Life Better Derbyshire or telephone 0800 085 22 99 or email llbd.info@derbyshire.gov.uk
Click here for Live Well Derby smoking cessation services in Derby City or call 01332 641254 or email livewell@derby.gov.uk
Smoking harms your body
It makes you ill
It makes you cough
It can cause heart attack. It can give you cancer.
You will feel better if you stop
For easy read information: Ask our Strategic Health Facilitators. Ring 01332 268455
Useful links
Over half of smokers with mental health problems want to quit and many succeed. It might take time and you may need lots of support and help but it can be done.
Everyone who stops smoking has to deal with withdrawal symptoms. But for people with mental health problems this can be more difficult as you may worry you won’t be able to cope. It’s very important to get help and support from your doctor and smoking cessation services.
Stopping smoking can affect antipsychotic medications so doses may need adjusting.
Stopping smoking can be an important part of your “Recovery” as you benefit from feeling fitter, having more energy and becoming more involved in your local community again.
Information guides
Nearly 8 out of 10 smokers start before their 18th birthday. The proportion of school aged children who smoke has seen a rapid decline over the last decade. However, it is still estimated that over 200,000 children aged 11-15 start smoking every year.
Unsurprisingly, if your parents smoke you are more likely to start smoking. Children who live with parents and/or siblings who smoke are up to 3 times more likely to become smokers themselves.
The earlier someone starts smoking the greater the potential harm to their health. An early uptake of smoking is linked to heavier smoking in later life, higher dependency and a lower chance of quitting and subsequently a greater risk of the health conditions associated with tobacco use and death.
Smoking impairs lung growth and initiates premature lung function decline. Young people who smoke are also at a higher risk of coughs, increased phlegm, wheeziness, shortness of breath and sickness which results in missing school and potentially affects education. There is an association between cigarette smoking and poor attainment at school.
Both of the Stop Smoking Services in Derbyshire, Live Life Better Derbyshire and Livewell Derby offer stop smoking support to anyone 12 and over.
