WHEN Damian Fish was just seven-years-old he wrote to Prime Minister Ted Heath asking for smoking to be banned.
Damian, who lives in Up Holland, was brought up in a household with both parents smoking.
His much loved mum, Domini Fish, died of lung cancer aged 67 in 2011 less than a year after being diagnosed with the disease. She had smoked since the aged of 14.
Dad-of-two Damian is now urging Greater Manchester MPs to back a proposed law to raise the age of sale of tobacco.
The call comes as new analysis by Cancer Research UK estimates up to 1.1 million fewer cigarettes will be smoked in the North West each day by 2040, if the legislation is successfully implemented.*
If passed, it would raise the legal age of sale of tobacco products in England by one year every year, meaning anyone born on or after January 1st, 2009 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes.
The legislation, introduced to Parliament yesterday (March 20) is now heading towards a crucial vote later this spring. That’s why Daman, is urging the region’s MPs to make history by creating the first smokefree generation.
If the legislation is implemented, the number of cigarettes that would go unsmoked between now and 2040 would add up to tens of billions.
That’s if the Government’s best-case modelling of a 90% reduction in rates of young people across England taking up smoking is achieved.
Tobacco is the one legal consumer product that will kill most of its users if used as instructed by the manufacturer. It causes at least 15 different types of cancer, including two of the most common, lung and bowel cancer.
While Cancer Research UK’s latest analysis focuses on cigarettes, all products that contain tobacco are harmful and increase cancer risk, so it has welcomed the Government’s announcement that the legislation will apply to all tobacco products -including heated tobacco devices.
Damian is originally from Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool and has previously taken part in Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Research UK as his family have been so impacted by the disease.
He understands the devastating toll of tobacco all too well. He and his family were away on holiday when he received a phone call from his sister Lorna saying he needed to speak to his parents urgently.
His mum Domini had been diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. She stopped smoking in 2004 when her four-year-old grandson spotted her smoking in the garden and insisted she would die. However, the damage had already been done having smoked for almost five decades.
The 67-year-old mum of three, who was married to Peter and had five grandchildren, faced chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, but sadly died in 2011, just 11 months after the diagnosis.
Damian, who served in the Army for 22 years with his younger brother Stefan, said: “When my sister phoned me on holiday saying I needed to speak to my parents urgently, I thought maybe they had won the lottery, but my mum had been diagnosed with stage three lung cancer.”
“My mum was a loving and caring woman who was very family-orientated and doted on her grandchildren. She gave up smoking when she was shocked into it by her grandson and then just a week later she suffered a heart attack. While she recovered from the heart attack, the damage from so many years of heavy smoking had taken its toll.
“I hated smoking so much growing up that I wrote to the Prime Minister asking for it to be banned and actually received a very nice response!
“My mum’s absence clouds every birthday, celebration or special occasion – not to mention all the ordinary, everyday moments we’ve missed out on enjoying together.
“Smoking is a deadly addiction and, like my mum, most people who smoke start when they are young and regret ever picking up a cigarette. I know she would back raising the age of sale of tobacco 100 per cent.
“I would appeal to everyone to use their democratic right to have a voice. The upcoming vote is a critical milestone towards ending the devastating effects of smoking, which has caused nothing but pain for us. For the sake of future generations we must do everything we can to make sure MPs get this over the line.”
Damian is urging the public to email their MP and encourage them to vote in favour of the legislation at cruk.org/SmokefreeGeneration.
Tobacco is the one legal consumer product that will kill most of its users if used as instructed by the manufacturer. It is linked to at least 15 different types of cancer, including two of the most common, lung and bowel cancer.
While Cancer Research UK’s latest analysis focuses on cigarettes, all products that contain tobacco are harmful and increase cancer risk, so it has welcomed the Government’s announcement that the legislation will apply to all tobacco products -including heated tobacco devices.
The charity’s North West spokesperson, Jane Bullock, said: “The biggest cause of cancer has no place in our future. As our analysis suggests, fast-forward to 2040, and the statistics could tell a very different story. Up to 1.1m fewer cigarettes smoked each day, would mean more people living longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of cancer.
“We’re grateful to Damian for sharing his mum’s heartbreaking story. Nothing would have a bigger impact on reducing the number of preventable deaths in the region than ending smoking. So, we must make sure our MPs are behind this critically important Age of Sale legislation. Together, we can make a smokefree generation a reality.”
Evidence shows that smoking rates go down with government action and its thanks to this that smoke-filled pubs and workplaces, tobacco advertising and branded packs have been consigned to the past.
Cancer Research UK says Age of Sale legislation is a vital next step on the journey to a smokefree UK and would create a lasting legacy for its young people that the nation can be proud of.
