P-04-642 Save The Filter - An Established Youth Stop Smoking and Prevention Service.
P-04-642 Save The Filter - An Established Youth Stop Smoking and Prevention Service.
We
the undersigned call upon the Welsh Government to fund The Filter – an established
youth stop smoking and prevention service.
Additional Information
Almost
5,500 people in Wales die from smoking-related diseases each year and 21% of
Welsh adults currently smoke. Smoking is an addiction of childhood - a
classroom of young people take up smoking every day in Wales; more must be done
to reduce this number.
The
Filter project, funded by Big Lottery Wales for three years and delivered by
ASH Wales Cymru, has been a huge success in educating young people in
disadvantaged communities about smoking. But the service is under threat as its
funding comes to an end in October 2015. The service offers:
• Face-to-face workshops with young people
• Training for professionals and young
volunteers • Stop smoking support via social media
• A youth-dedicated website providing
information and advice
The
Filter’s youth development team has worked with over 5,000 young people
face-to-face at more than 200 sessions across Wales, all supported by a strong
social media and online offering. The team has made crucial links in
disadvantaged communities across Wales, where smoking rates are highest. The
team has also trained over 750 professionals who work with young people.
Over
the past 3 years this initiative has provided an invaluable service, tackling
our biggest public health priority in Wales. Helping young people to quit, and
preventing them from taking up smoking is a key priority for Welsh Government,
outlined in the Tobacco Control Action Plan.
Cardiff
University independently evaluated The Filter and concluded that all three
strands of the project were feasible, flexible and adaptable to deliver.
The
Big Lottery Wales grant comes to an end in October this year and without any
further funding from Welsh Government or Public Health Wales, we will have no
service working with young people outside of school settings. A service like
The Filter is critical to securing a smokefree generation and tackling the
biggest public health concern that we face in Wales.
Petition raised by: ASH Wales Cymru
Date petition first
considered by Committee:
Number of signatures: 365 Online signatures
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Type: For information
First published: 25/06/2015