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A survey - launched today - will help to guide future policies in Guernsey that could see the island take drastic steps to reduce smoking rates.
The Health Improvement Commission has set up the online poll to gauge views on matters related to tobacco, e-cigarettes, the age at which young people can first legally buy those products, and where those products can then be consumed or used.
The results will be shared with Public Health which will in turn be working with Health and Social Care and other States bodies to create future policies around tobacco, smoking, and related issues.
Pictured: The survey is open to anyone, whatever their involvement or otherwise in the tobacco industry and associated sectors.
Guernsey has a smoking rate of around 13% while the Bailiwick as a whole is aiming to get that down to 10% by 2028.
Long term the Health Improvement Commission and Public Health would like the islands to attain 'smoke free status' which would involve reaching a smoking rate of less than 5%.
Lucy Cave, Tobacco Harm Reduction Officer for the Health Improvement Commission said the survey will help direct how they aim to achieve that.
“We know that over the last few years smoking rates have plateaued and if we want to reduce them further then bold measures are needed," she said. "Engagement with the public is crucial to understand what islanders want and to allow people to play a role in shaping Guernsey’s decisions. We believe that engagement can support better decisions that will benefit the health of the island.”
Dr Nicola Brink, the Director of Public Health, has said she's supportive of the survey and is looking forward to the wider consultation it will feed into.
“The Health Improvement Commission and Public Health Services work really closely on a number of projects aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of islanders," she said.
"The views of islanders are so important in informing what we should be doing. Please fill out the survey so that your views can form part of the island’s future.”
The Health Improvement Commission says it is "interested in understanding what islanders think about various policy options that Guernsey could put in place to reduce smoking rates".
The survey - HERE - is open to anyone who lives in the Bailiwick and is 18 or older, and the Health Improvement Commission says they would like as many people as possible to complete it.
The questions will gauge views on different tobacco control policy options, such as increasing smoke-free spaces or increasing the legal age of buying tobacco products. These are based on policies already in place in other countries or those being considered elsewhere.
The Health Improvement Commission says the policies presented are only potential options at this stage and none have been proposed to, planned by, or agreed on by the States.
Findings from the survey will be used to help inform the Commission’s work on tobacco, vaping, and cigarette controls though, and will be fed back to Public Health to direct decision making about future tobacco control policy.
The findings will also be reported publicly once collated.
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