New smoking figures - bitter sweet news

Today’s figures on the number of people smoking – and quitting – are bittersweet.

The latest NHS statistics show that while more people are kicking the habit, the percentage of smokers in England has remained the same. While it is great news that more people are successfully quitting, it sadly looks as though the tobacco industry is still able to recruit legions of new smokers to replace those who quit - or die from smoking related ill health.

We know the tobacco industry is trying harder than ever to find new recruits, which is why those firms are so opposed to new laws banning cigarette vending machines and tobacco displays in shops.

It’s a fact that two thirds of smokers start before they are 18, and we know tens of thousands of teenagers regularly get hold of cigarettes from vending machines because they are an easy source of tobacco where people rarely check for age identification.

We campaigned hard for this new law because banning vending machines would cut off this easy access to cigarettes by young people and getting rid of tobacco displays would close off one of the few remaining ways for tobacco firms to market their products to such an influential audience.

Everyone, even the tobacco firms, know that smoking is bad for you and the scientific case against it is long and well established. It’s a major risk factor for developing heart disease borne out by the depressing figure that 25,000 smokers die every year from smoking related heart disease. A total of 114,000 smokers die more generally as a result of their habit.

Yet tobacco firms are hard at work lobbying the Coalition government in the hope ministers will back down. We think we should be doing everything we can to protect children from smoking. You can help by writing to your MP asking them to make sure this law becomes reality. The health of our young people depends on it.

By Joseph Clift

Policy Officer

Blogging from the heart

"A lot of exciting things have happened recently. Not only did I get an operation date I got a new car!"

Leanne (pictured right) is a 21-year-old heart patient waiting for a heart valve replacement operation.

She's currently writing a regular blog for our young people's website yheart, and is into her fourth week of posting.

Read her latest entry here

The latest from our heart blogger Leanne...

"I think I have gone from six nights a week of going out having fun to lasting six hours before I need a nap - and that’s without a night out or a day at uni.

"Either way I knew it was for the best to head home as my health was slightly more important that seeing Radiohead. And I needed to get over the traumatic experience of being crushed against a burger van by about 100 bored festival goers."

Leanne (pictured above right) is 21 and has a congenital heart condition. She's currently waiting to undergo a heart valve operation.

The passage above is taken from a regular blog in which Leanne is going to be sharing her experiences on our young people's website yheart - you can read her latest post about the Leeds Festival here

Let Leanne and us know what you think about her blog by posting a comment below.

What's it like to be 21 and waiting for a heart op?

"In a weird way I am looking forward to the operation now, but as it is a few weeks away I need to concentrate on my pending exams that I am taking. I have to do my exams in summer as I had an operation during the usual exam time. Annoying, but again my health comes first."

Leanne (pictured above right) is 21 and has a congenital heart condition. She's currently waiting to undergo a heart valve operation.

The passage above is taken from a regular blog in which Leanne is going to be sharing her experiences on our young people's website yheart - you can read her first post here

Let Leanne and us know what you think about her blog by posting a comment below.

Check out our new BHF channels

We've been rapidly growing the number of multimedia channels through which you can get a wide range of different types of BHF content, such as video, audio, photos, podcasts, mobile texts and, of course, this blog.

So we've pulled them all together on to a single page which you can now access, and it's called BHF Multimedia

But these new channels aren't just a way for us to communicate with you, they're also your chance to talk with us, and share your own thoughts and content with your fellow users.

The recent posts on this blog about our 2008 London to Brighton Bike Ride were a great example of how you can feed back to us about how well or badly you think we are doing.

So it's worth recapping what the channels are, and we look forward to receiving your comments and your content, whether it's video, photos, audio or maybe you just want to become a fan on our BHF Facebook page. Here's how you can interact with us and fellow users...

BHF on YouTube - visit our comprehensive video channel, become a subscriber to BHF videos on Heart Health, Events, Campaigns, Research and much more, and leave comments for us and other users.

BHF on Flickr - see our great collections of photos from BHF events, campaigns and more, join our BHF Flickr group and share your photos and comments with us and fellow members.

BHF on iTunes (you need iTunes on your computer) - subscribe to our regular audio and video podcasts, and if you have anything to say about what you hear or see leave some feedback for us on iTunes.

BHF on Facebook - find out more about the work of the BHF, join our growing number of Facebook fans and leave comments for us and other visitors to our page.

And last but not least...

BHF on Blogger - get the latest updates about the BHF, subscribe to the blog by RSS or Atom feed, and post your comments on our latest news and activities.

So if you have a comment or question about any of our new multimedia channels - or if there's something you think we should be doing which we aren't - then please post a comment below...

Bloggers bare all in debate on our sex and swimming poster

Our inclusion (and others) in the Top 10 Most Complained About Adverts of 2007 - as compiled by the Advertising Standards Authority in its latest annual report and blogged here yesterday - has stirred some vigorous debate over on Guardian Unlimited.

As we posted yesterday, our sex and swimming advert - to promote the exercise message of our 30 a Day campaign last year - attracted 122 complaints from the public, taking it to number 7 in the Top 10 list and sparking much debate.

"Who actually wastes their life complaining about adverts? Seriously, how could anyone be offended by the British Heart Foundation ad above? Religious types can choose to believe that the couple above are married if they are worried about adultery or something," posts 'RightWingGit' on the Guardian's Comment Is Free blog

"The British Heart Foundation ad is great: natural, warm and normal," writes 'dholliday'.

And 'Dotterel' adds: "I don't see the problem with the BHF one, surely objecting to that is a bit like objecting to an ad encouraging running in case someone goes running through a dodgy neighbourhood in the dark and gets mugged?

"If it was the blokes bare a*** there are far worse examples to get worked up about, unless it was the fact it was a blokes? I also have to admit to being a bit old fashioned and assuming the couple on the BHF ad were married!"

Perhaps the last word goes to 'hyperchild': "I remember the British Heart Foundation ad campaign because I found it so ridiculous. While displaying a very lovely warm image of an older couple, its message is quite patronising.

"Instructing people to have sex for the sake of getting exercise, wtf? a) Not all people have sex in the same way (sex isn't just confined to one act anyway) and b)sex isn't just continuous motion. Thus it's not a replacement for actial aerobic exercise - walking, running, cycling - which your heart needs. Being instructed to have sex by a charity-sponsored billboard is just wrong."

Join the debate and have your say on the Most Complained About Adverts of 2007