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Encouraging the use of e-cigarettes to reduce the number of smokers in Stockton has been defended amid an agreement to fund services helping people kick the habit until 2020.

Both Stockton and Hartlepool Councils have held a joint contract with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to fund stop smoking services for the past three years.

And the number of smokers has fallen in that time.

Cllr Jim Beall, Stockton’s cabinet member for adult social care and health, told panellists at a meeting on Thursday how the council’s “targeted approach” had reaped rewards so far and praised the role e-cigarettes had played.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

He said: “The good news is smoking figures are coming down through medication and e-cigarettes - that’s something to celebrate.

“But we have got these small pockets where it is ingrained in a culture or sub-culture - I want us to be more on the front foot in these areas, taking this service to the people rather letting the people come to the service.”

Cllr Beall said health teams at the council were “ahead of the curve” when it came to e-cigarettes and wanted the authority to use them “as a tool to help people quit.”

He added that NICE (the National Institute for Care and Excellence) guidelines still meant electronic cigarettes “could not yet be prescribed” but that the council could “still provide support”.

(Image: PA)

Cllr Beall added: “We can use it as shortcut to help them quit - there is certainly no evidence to show young people are using them as a start for smoking.

“The battle is slowly being won and there’s been some great successes.”

His message came after the adult health and wellbeing commissioning group agreed a softer approach to cut back the number of smokers in Stockton and Hartlepool.

Ruby Poppleton, Stockton Council’s health improvement specialist, told panellists how many smokers did not necessarily want professional help to kick the habit - with self-help tools and access to medicines preferred and showing signs of success.

Instead, public health teams at the council are looking at a “three tier approach” - the top tier involving the existing rigorous treatment and the other two offering brief support through pharmacies, steering towards apps and books and help using e-cigarettes.

Ms Poppleton added: “It’s something we want to redesign to support smokers who want something less intensive.

“It’s so we can give people support in the best way to use them (e-cigarettes) and where not to - we do not recommend buying them from the market place.”

This year saw Stockton contribute £359,495 while Hartlepool dished out £204,885 to support the scheme.

Earlier, Cllr Beall pointed to research showing people from deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds were three times more likely to smoke than in less deprived areas.

A 12 to 18 month consultation is being lined up to canvas pharmacies about the new less intensive stop smoking approach to see whether it needs tweaking or not.