Welcome to the new SmokeFree London website: re-launched as we move towards a new phase of tobacco control in London.
Tobacco continues to cause the premature death of more than 10,000 Londoners each year. It is the most significant cause of health inequality throughout the capital.
These deaths, and their uneven distribution amongst our diverse communities, are completely unneccessary and completely avoidable.
Last year saw the introduction of smokefree workplace legislation - successful thanks to overwhelming public support. At the same time, the age of sale for tobacco products was raised from 16 to 18 years. Now new health warnings, using graphic imagery, will appear on cigarette packs with effect from October 2008 and on all other tobacco products from April 2009.
There are other measures that may help to reduce the future visibility of, and access to, tobacco products - such as restrictions on point of sale displays and vending machines, action against street sales of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes, regular tax rises above the rate of inflation etc.
Continued publicity about the health risks of tobacco, and support for smokers who wish to quit, are all part of the package. This is what SmokeFree London is about: helping to reduce the health harm caused by tobacco. Our newly re-vamped website is part of that process. It is intended to provide a 'one-stop shop'source of information about tobacco; its impact on London and on Londoners; and the various steps that we can take to achieve longer, healthier lives for today's smokers as well as improved public health for all; by removing our dependence - individually and communally - on nicotine.