Issue - meetings

To consider the report.

Jane Horne introduced the report, which set out the work being undertaken on the Treating Tobacco Dependency programme and sought to clarify the arrangements to ensure transparency and deliver compliance with Dorset Council governance in respect of procurement processes and Public Contract Regulations.

Officers responded to Board Members’ comments and requests for clarification, details included:

• The addictive substance was Nicotine, which is present regardless of whether a traditional cigarette or a vape stick was being utilised, although when vaping, fewer chemicals were being ingested by users, so it was accepted that it was healthier than smoking.
• Health professionals worked hard to encourage patients to reduce their dependency on their nicotine intake.
• The cost of smoking to the partnership councils and to the NHS was approximately £30M
• It was anticipated that the projected cost savings based on the Ottowa Model would amount to approximately £4M.
• The modelling that had been undertaken was planned to take a large sum of money out of costs to the NHS and go towards prevention, but it would be longer before Councils saw the benefits of these savings.
• The data was focussed on those smoking and those who needed support, there were other sources of data that need to be reviewed longer term.
• It should be noted that some people quit smoking the first time around, whereas others took multiple cycles of intervention and the data provided from UHD showed lower levels of smoking an originally anticipated.

Noted