Call for action in the Turkish-speaking communities, where almost 1 in every 2 people smoke
Enfield Council has called for plain packaging to be introduced for cigarettes in a bid to reduce deaths caused by smoking.
Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death in the borough and across much of London, with the council saying approximately 400 people die from smoking-related complications in Enfield alone every year.
A significant proportion of deaths and illnesses are in London’s Turkish-speaking communities, where smoking is far more prevalent than the national average.
Research figures obtained by London Gazete indicate that nearly half of all Turks, Kurds and Cypriots in London are smokers, far above the UK national average, which is around 20%.
The figures, which have yet to be published, reveal smoking prevalence in the communities is far higher among 18-25 year olds, where nearly two in every people are smokers.
They also point to a widespread perception in the community that shisha, also known in Turkish as narghile, is more acceptable and less damaging than other forms of tobacco.
But according to the British Heart Foundation this perception is dangerous and wrong.
It says on its website: “People smoke shisha for much longer periods of time than they smoke a cigarette, and in one puff of shisha you inhale the same amount of smoke as you’d get from a smoking a whole cigarette.
“The average shisha-smoking session lasts an hour and research has shown that in this time you can inhale the same amount of smoke as from more than 100 cigarettes.”
GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION
The UK government is currently consulting on introducing plain packaging, which would remove all branding from cigarette packets and replace them with health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps.
Many have argued that existing packaging acts as a “silent salesman” and plain samples have reduced smoking prevalence in places like Australia by 15%.
Rohini Simodyal, Enfield’s cabinet member for culture, sport, youth and public health, added: “Enfield was the first London borough to introduce smoke-free parks and children’s play areas.
“Plain packaging has been shown to make cigarettes less attractive, particularly to children. Enfield Council is therefore supportive of this measure and will be keen to implement it as another way of protecting children and improving the health of all residents.”
