New data published today [19th July] shows that the public believe further action is needed to tackle smoking. The data is published as MPs and peers gather to mark four years since the Government committed to make England ‘smokefree’ by 2030 [1]. Progress has been stalled and Cancer Research UK estimate it will be missed by 9 years [2]. Smoking is currently still killing one person every five minutes in England [3].

The ASH Smokefree GB survey carried out by YouGov [4] finds that 47% of adults in London think the Government is not doing enough to address smoking, many more than the 28% who think the Government is doing about right, with only 9% saying they are ‘doing too much’. There is overwhelming majority support for further action to:

Place a levy on tobacco companies (73% support, 6% oppose)
Raise the age of sale to 21 (64% support, 15% oppose)
Tobacco retail licensing (79% support, 6% oppose)
Increasing government investment in public education campaigns (70% support, 8% oppose)
Pack inserts to motivate quitting (65% support, 8% oppose)
Many of these recommendations were included in the independent Khan review published in June 2022. The review author Dr Javed Khan will address the meeting in Parliament. Ahead of the event Dr Khan says:

“Reaching a smokefree 2030 is achievable but it requires more action than the Government has currently committed to. My 2022 review called for a holistic response that will make smoking obsolete in this country. Without doubt, sustainable and increased funding is needed to support those with the highest rates of smoking, something which could be levied from the tobacco industry. Anything less risks leaving some groups behind and widening the already substantial inequalities caused by smoking.”

In April the Government announced [5] a new ‘swap to stop’ scheme to distribute 1 million vape kits to help adults to quit, a financial incentive scheme for pregnant smokers and pack inserts to promote quitting in cigarette packs.

Public Health Minister Neil O’Brien will speak at the event and commented:

“I am delighted that the Government will be supporting many more smokers to quit through our ‘swap to stop scheme’ providing a million smokers with access to vaping kits and our new incentive scheme for pregnant smokers. These are important steps on the path to achieving a smokefree country by 2030. We will also shortly be launching a consultation on requiring tobacco to be sold with pack inserts to motivate quitting which will help many more to stop. The Government continues to be committed to reducing smoking and addressing the inequalities which it causes.”

There is strong public support across the political spectrum for a levy on tobacco manufacturers. Supported by the overwhelming majority of those surveyed who voted for the 3 largest British political parties at the 2019 general election (Conservative 75%, Labour 82%, Liberal Democrats 87%) [6].

Chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health, Bob Blackman MP said:

“The Government is to be congratulated for the measures to end the tobacco epidemic announced earlier this year. However, while they are a great first step, they’re not nearly enough to deliver our nation’s smokefree 2030 ambition. The public know this, there’s overwhelming popular support for the Government to go further and faster. Ending smoking will protect our health and social care system and improve productivity in the here and now, as well as delivering future generations from the appalling suffering and premature death caused by smoking.”

Tracy Parr, Programme Director for the London Tobacco Alliance and London’s digital and dedicated telephone stop smoking service Stop Smoking London said:

“We fully support steps to make it easier for smokers to quit and to make it harder for tobacco to claim more lives. This includes swap to stop, added support for pregnant smokers to help them beat tobacco dependence and stronger enforcement to curb illicit vape sales and youth vaping.

“Stop Smoking London provides Londoners with free telephone and digital stop smoking advice and support and referrals to local face-to-face smoking cessation services in our boroughs. We have fewer than 7 years until 2030, we need more funding to reach smokers in London with this support and help increase take up of this offer and others like it around the country.”

Cathy Hunt, 57, is a mum of four from County Durham who has undergone two rounds of lung cancer surgery and had a kidney removed in June. She is attending the event in Parliament to let MPs know what she thinks about the progress being made. She is the face of a new quit campaign in the North East led by regional organisation Fresh and a local councilor. Cathy backs greater investment in public education campaigns and a levy on tobacco companies. Cathy says:

“You hear the word cancer and the first thing I thought was “how do I tell my girls?” For me it was only when I found out I had cancer that I stopped smoking, and even then quitting was the best thing I could do. But this is exactly why you need those warnings and constant reminders on the TV…to stop more people getting that to that awful stage. It is so easy to put it to the back of your mind otherwise.

“I was 11 when I started smoking and most smokers begin as kids, long before you really understand addiction, or the risks. But tobacco companies understand the risks all too well. Tobacco companies are profiting and they should be sued and that money paid used for treatment and prevention.”