8. 7. Statement: The Welsh Health Survey

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:59 pm on 21 June 2016.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:59, 21 June 2016

Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Welsh health survey gives us an overview of the state of the nation’s health. It covers health status, health service use and health-related behaviour. I’m making a statement today on the headline messages, but there will be more learning and analysis of the survey later in the year.

The recently published Welsh health survey 2015 shows us that 19 per cent of adults currently smoke. That’s down from 26 per cent in 2003 to 2004. This significant reduction means that we have surpassed the Welsh Government aim to reduce smoking rates to 20 per cent by 2016. We are now well on track to achieve the ambitious target to reduce smoking levels to 16 per cent by 2020—and we didn’t always think that we’d get there. This progress is testament to the efforts of a range of professionals who have worked to discourage in particular young people from starting to smoke, and the advice and support given to smokers who want help to quit. I’m pleased to recognise that the people of Wales have embraced a change in culture so that smoke-free environments are now the norm.

It’s important that we maintain and enhance our efforts. We know that smoking kills and causes harm. We need to act so that young people do not start smoking and smokers who want to quit receive the best support available. With this in mind, we’re currently reviewing the tobacco control action plan to ensure that we continue to make every effort to further reduce smoking levels in Wales.

We have, for the first time, specific information about the number of e-cigarette users in Wales. Fifteen per cent of adults have ever tried e-cigarettes; with 6 per cent being current users, and 59 per cent of current users are also current smokers. These figures are comparable to the findings from surveys elsewhere in the UK, and we will continue to keep the evidence on e-cigarette use under review.

Whilst levels of alcohol consumption have not fallen this year, they do remain at the lowest levels since these questions were introduced in 2008. Overall, alcohol consumption amongst younger adults has reduced, but there has been a slight increase in older adults. Tackling alcohol misuse remains a priority for the Welsh Government and our actions will be set out in the new substance misuse delivery plan. The actions will include a strong focus on tackling the harms associated with risky drinking behaviours, particularly amongst older adults. We expect to publish that plan before the summer recess.

Our actions to reduce the harms caused by alcohol are underpinned by new UK chief medical officers’ guidelines, which were published in January this year. These include a single low-risk limit of 14 units a week for both men and women, and make clear that drinking any level of alcohol increases the risk of a range of cancers and other disease. The new guidelines also reinforce the message that there is no safe level of alcohol to drink during pregnancy.

We will continue to press the case for introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol in Wales. Such action would specifically target the heaviest drinkers to prevent the harms caused by excessive alcohol intake, whilst minimising the impact on moderate drinkers.

The survey also provides us with an indication of the proportion of the population who are either overweight or obese. The Minister for Social Services and Public Health highlighted last week that there has been a slow but steady increase in the number of adults classed as overweight or obese since the survey started in 2003-04. During this 11-year period, the proportion of adults classed as overweight or obese has risen from 54 per cent to 59 per cent, and obesity alone has increased from 18 per cent to 24 per cent. Levels also increase with deprivation and are highest in middle age.

Put simply, we know that the cause of people being overweight and obese is an imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. So it’s not surprising that the data also show levels of physical activity are not improving, and only a third of adults report eating their five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, which is a widely used indicator of a healthy balanced diet.

Improving the well-being of people in Wales, and enabling them to eat better and move more is a key manifesto commitment for us, and my portfolio brings together a number of the components to take this agenda forward. The recently enacted Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 has at its core an intention to improve the health, social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales. To fulfil the ambitions of the Act, we will have to become a society in which physical and mental well-being is maximised and behaviours that benefit future health are understood. Increasing physical activity levels and improving our diet are key components to achieving the ambitions within the Act.

A national physical activity director has been jointly appointed by the Welsh Government, Sport Wales and Public Health Wales to develop recommendations to improve levels of physical activity.

Together with work on education and behaviour change, we are also working to influence the food environment. We are expanding nutritional standards in more settings, and we’re currently developing them for both care homes and early-years settings. We will also need to work with the food industry at both Welsh and UK levels. We need to influence the availability of healthier products and encourage the use of the UK Government’s front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme and responsible promotion and marketing. My predecessor, of course, pressed for stronger UK Government action on sugar and a strengthening of the restriction on advertising of unhealthy foods to children. We were pleased to hear the announcement of the UK sugar levy. However, the levy in itself will not resolve all of our challenges around sugar consumption.

Whilst I am of course encouraged to see a decline in the number of adults smoking in Wales, overall it is clear that many of us continue to eat and drink too much and are not exercising enough. Supporting and encouraging people to take small steps to improve their lifestyle and reduce the risk of preventable illness remains a priority for the Welsh Government. However, this is not something the Welsh Government can do alone. It requires joint action from a wide range of organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors and, of course, from individuals themselves.