I am writing in both a personal and professional capacity urging you to support the Tobacco and Vapes Bill due for second reading tomorrow.
As a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Hull, I am the Portfolio Holder for Adult Services and Public Health and have responsibility for reducing smoking in a part of the country with some of the highest rates, with 500 people every year dying from smoking related illness. The impact is profound in a low-income community like Hull, and the cost to our local economy is around £390 million a year.
I am an ex-smoker. I worked as a nurse for over 40 years; most of it in critical care in the operating theatres. There I witnessed over time the devastating effects smoking had on people’s lives. Often when going off duty I would pass patients all lined up outside, still smoking. Seeing this happening I made several attempts to quit smoking myself, but it was not easy. My husband, Mike, did not give up smoking but supported me in my attempt.
I did not manage to quit before smoking permanently damaged my health and I now have COPD, a condition common among those of us who smoked for many years.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
From The Mere back to Ellesmere canal basin
Burnham's housing black hole
Slamdac 
Hywel 
Simon McGrath 
Simon Robinson 
Tim 