Why Alcohol Reduction Is Essential for a Smoke-Free Future

As a charity dedicated to ending the harms caused by smoking, we strongly support government action to reduce alcohol harm. The links between smoking and drinking are well established and tackling one without addressing the other risks limiting our progress on both fronts.

Around 6m people in the UK smoke. Many of these will also drink alcohol above the CMO guidelines. Research has found people with experience of alcohol misuse were up to almost three times more likely to smoke. Studies have also found that 58% of those at risk of alcohol dependence were current smokers – almost four times higher than the general population rate.

The reasons for this overlap are complex but clear. Nicotine and alcohol reinforce each other. Drinking can increase cravings for cigarettes, lower inhibitions, and shorten time to relapse. Nicotine, in turn, can mask alcohol’s sedative effects, allowing longer and riskier drinking sessions. Crucially, alcohol use also undermines people’s efforts to quit smoking.

Smoking and alcohol are independently risk factors for a range of preventable disease. But together they can be a lethal combination, exponentially increasing the risk of some types of cancer.

We know from the tobacco control movement that bold, sustained, and comprehensive policies work. Taxation, marketing restrictions, smoke-free environments, and public health campaigns have driven down smoking rates. Yet we’ve not seen equivalent ambition on alcohol – despite the fact that it remains one of the UK’s biggest preventable causes of death and disease.

Reducing alcohol harm is not just good policy – it’s essential for a smoke-free future.