Winners of the Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Awards 2009

Gold Winner

Fresh – Smoke Free North East

Fresh – Smoke Free North East was launched in 2005 and was the United Kingdom's first dedicated regional office and programme for tobacco control. The main objectives for this long term evidence-based programme are to change the social norms around tobacco use, making it much less affordable, accessible, and attractive. It also aims to reduce smoking prevalence by supporting smokers to stop, reducing youth uptake and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke. Smoking rates have declined at twice the rate nationally in the region - from 29% of adults in 2005 to 22% of adults in 2007. The North East no longer has the highest smoking rates in the country.

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Ailsa Rutter, Director, Fresh - Smoke Free North East, with Sir Liam Donaldson

Ailsa Rutter, Director, Fresh - Smoke Free North East,
with Sir Liam Donaldson

Silver Winner

Consensus Action on Salt and Health

Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) has waged a successful public health campaign to make the food industry in the United Kingdom reduce the amount of salt it adds to our foods. In the United Kingdom, average salt intake has already fallen by 1 gm a day, preventing approximately 12,000 strokes and heart attacks per year (6,000 of which would have been fatal). As salt intake continues to fall – as more salt is taken out of food – even greater benefits will be seen, with many thousands more lives saved.

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Professor Graham MacGregor, Chair, CASH, with Sir Liam Donaldson

Professor Graham MacGregor, Chair, CASH,
with Sir Liam Donaldson

Bronze Winner

Sustrans

Sustrans is the United Kingdom’s leading sustainable transport charity. It works on practical and innovative projects that enable people to walk, cycle and use public transport much more. These include the National Cycle Network, with 386 million walking and cycling journeys during 2008; Bike It, which is enabling children to cycle far more often to school; and TravelSmart, which gives people at home the information they need to get about on foot, bike and public transport, reducing car use by as much as 14%.

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Malcolm Shepherd, Chief Executive, Sustrans, with Sir Liam Donaldson

Malcolm Shepherd, Chief Executive, Sustrans,
with Sir Liam Donaldson