Fresh
Sponsor Information
Fresh was the UK’s first dedicated regional tobacco control programme, set up in the North East in 2005 to address (then) the worst rate of smoking-related illness and death in England.
Smoking rates in the North East have reduced by nearly two-thirds, from 29% of adults smoking in 2005 to 11% of adults smoking in 2023, with the North East now second lowest region in the country. However, approximately 230,000 NE adults still smoke, and the latest evidence shows that up to two in every three long-term smokers are killed by tobacco. Fresh launched the North East’s declaration for a smokefree future in 2023, within which there is a clear vision: “A smokefree future, free of the death and disease from tobacco, is needed, wanted and workable. This would improve the health and wealth of our region’s most disadvantaged communities more than any other measure”.
