Policy & Campaigning

We are calling on the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive to raise the age to buy e-cigarettes/vapes to 21. We know that e-cigarettes have increased in prevalence over the past number of years and research has shown they are incredibly harmful to a person’s health. While the UK Government is introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is a fairly comprehensive piece of legislation, we are urging them to go further due to the harmful effects of vaping and its prevalence among young people. NICHS has set up a petition which you can support by clicking the button below.

Sign Our Petition

We conduct several short surveys throughout the year about issues regarding chest, heart and stroke conditions and health inequalities. Your answers will be anonymised. We will use your answers in Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke reports and in face-to-face meetings with the Government and other decision-makers. If you are willing, we may also get in touch with you to participate in focus groups with other members, or to tell us about your experience so we can share this as a case study.

Current Survey:

We support the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol. This law sets the lowest price an alcoholic drink can be sold for, based on its alcohol content, and aims to tackle harmful drinking. The NI Assembly looks set to introduce MUP – but we want to hear what you think. Please complete our 5 minute survey to tell us your views.https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MUP25

You are represented by both Assembly Members (MLAs), who represent you in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and a Member of Parliament (MP), who is elected to represent constituents at Westminster. However, as health is a power devolved from Westminster to Stormont, we suggest that you write to your MLA in the first instance, or go to aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/search.aspx.

A template letter is available overleaf or at www.nichs.org.uk/mlatemplate. Please use this to adapt and email or send to your local MLA.

Tips for Writing to Elected Representatives

• Include your home address. Elected representatives are only able to act on behalf of people who live in the constituency (i.e. geographical area) they were elected for. There are five MLAs for every constituency, and they will need your address to check that you are writing to the correct MLA(s).

• Personalise the letter. We’ve provided a template letter for you to use, but please do feel free to edit it in any way you like.

• Let us know if you hear back. We’d love to hear if you received a response from your elected official – please forward any replies to campaigns@nichs.org.uk.

[Insert your home address here]
[Insert date]

Dear [Insert MLA’s name],

As your constituent, I am growing increasingly concerned about the impact of the [Insert Chest, Heart or Stroke issue] on people in Northern Ireland.

[Insert the impact of Chest, Heart or Stroke conditions on you personally if you wish.]
[Include any details of the impact of Chest, Heart or Stroke conditions.]

Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke have been calling for improved services across all Chest, Heart and Stroke conditions (CHS) through their manifestos, which can be found at www.nichs.org.uk/campaigning.

I urge you to support these asks and push for better funding and increased service provision for those at risk of or living with the impact of [Insert Chest, Heart or Lung condition]. It is imperative that these services are available on an equitable basis, with no postcode lottery, to those who need them across Northern Ireland.

I look forward to your reply outlining what action you will take to ensure that services for people at risk of or living with CHS conditions will be given sufficient priority.

Yours sincerely,
[Insert your full name]