Reports
Smoking and Poverty
This analysis of national data finds that 3 in 5 of all households containing smokers living in poverty live in the North and Midlands while fewer than 1 in 5 are in London and the South East. The link between smoking and disadvantage is well established, but this new analysis throws light on how the […]
Read MoreProfile of 16/17-year-old smokers
This report, based on analysis of data from the UCL Smoking Toolkit Study and ASH Smokefree Youth Surveys, sets out key findings on 16 and 17 year olds smoking behaviours and the wider context which impacts on this. Areas covered in the report include everything from smoking prevalence, quitting behaviour and e-cigarette use to where […]
Read MoreThe cost of smoking to the social care system
This report sets out the impact of smoking-related illness on social care need and the resulting costs in England, building on previous reports published by ASH in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Full research and analysis details are included in the accompanying technical report by Landman Economics, available here. Download the full report here ASH has […]
Read MoreGetting back on track: Delivering a smokefree start for every child
This report from ASH and the Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge Group sets out the action needed to turn the Government’s ambitions on smoking in pregnancy and a smokefree society into a reality. The report was launched on the 10th February 2021, at a joint meeting of the APPG on Smoking and Health and the APPG on Baby Loss. […]
Read MoreStepping up: The response of stop smoking services in England to the COVID-19 pandemic
This report, written in partnership with Cancer Research UK, examines the performance of stop smoking services in England during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The proportion of local authorities commissioning a specialist stop smoking service has risen year-on-year from 65% in 2018 and 69% in 2019 to 77% in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced local authorities […]
Read MoreSmokefree Skills: Training needs of mental health nurses and psychiatrists
This report examines the current training of mental health nurses and psychiatrists to help their patients quit smoking. Download report. Download executive summary.
Read MoreSmoking, employability, and earnings
This report sets out findings from a analysis conducted by Landman Economics for ASH looking at the impact of smoking on employment and earnings in terms of lost income across the UK. Smoking has a significant negative impact on individual earnings and employment prospects, with long-term smokers being 7.5% less likely to be employed than […]
Read MoreMany ways forward
This report presents the findings from an online survey of tobacco control leads in local authorities in England. Findings include that many opportunities exist for local authority commissioners of tobacco control and stop smoking services to build on their past successes and improve their local offer. These include joint working with colleagues in other local […]
Read MoreProgress towards smokefree mental health services
This report presents the findings of a survey of NHS mental health trusts in England conducted by ASH for Public Health England in Spring 2019. It examines whether the Government’s objective for all mental health trusts to be smokefree by 2018 has been achieved. It describes […]
Read MoreSmokefree Skills: Community Mental Health
ASH analysis, based on a survey of mental health professionals (nurses and psychiatrists) working in the community, found that there is low awareness of very brief advice (VBA) among mental health nurses and psychiatrists; that prescribing medications for smoking cessation is not common practice amongst community mental health professional; and that a substantial proportion of […]
Read MoreA Change in the Air
A Change in the Air presents the findings of a study of smokefree policy and practice in mental health trusts in England. The findings are principally drawn from a survey of mental health trusts conducted in the summer of 2018. The aim of this study is to describe the progress made by mental health […]
Read MoreSmoking in the home: New solutions for a Smokefree Generation
Report Smoking in the home: New solutions for a Smokefree Generation considers the impact of smoking in the home and what policy measures could be taken across all housing tenures to reduce its prevalence, with the aim of protecting children and adults and supporting healthy communities. The report calls for collaboration between […]
Read MoreSmoking in pregnancy challenge group, Review of the Challenge 2018
The Smoking in Pregnancy Challenge Group released a report on the 4th July 2018 calling for Government action to tackle smoking in pregnancy. The new report shines light on the progress towards the Government’s ambition to reduce the smoking in pregnancy rate to less than 6% by 2022 and warns that unless more is done […]
Read MoreASH Research Report: Smoking and Peripheral Arterial Disease
This research report reviews the health consequences of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and reveals that quitting smoking is the best form of treatment. PAD is a type of vascular disease that affects the arteries. Smoking is the most important preventable risk factor for peripheral arterial disease. December 2017.
Read MoreSmokefree Skills: an assessment of maternity workforce training
This report provides an analysis of the training that midwives and obstetricians receive to address smoking in pregnant women, and what further training is needed. Smoking is a major cause of stillbirth and sudden infant death, and also leads to more babies being born with health problems and with a low birth weight. You can […]
Read MoreRecent Posts
Budget a small step forward for tobacco but still not enough
Tobacco duties In line with the escalator duty rates on all tobacco products will increase by 2% above (RPI) and …Ending smoking in the UK would increase the number of UK jobs by nearly half a million
23rd October 2021 New analysis of national statistics [1] published in advance of the Budget and Spending Review on Wednesday …
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and SPECTRUM representation to HM Treasury’s Spending Review (SR21) and Budget
In September 2021, ASH and SPECTRUM, a public health research consortium of academics from 10 UK universities and partner organisations …
Tobacco and the Environment
From growing the tobacco plant to the disposal of butts and packaging, the whole life cycle of a cigarette takes …Smoking and Meningococcal Disease
Exposure to tobacco smoke via both active and passive smoking has been shown to increase the risk of developing meningococcal …
