Mental health leaders call on government to end smoking to improve mental and physical health
Leaders from the mental health sector have written to Steve Barclay, secretary of state for health and social care, urging the Government to publish a new tobacco control plan to tackle smoking among people with mental health conditions. The letter has been coordinated by the Mental Health and Smoking Partnership, a coalition of 25 organisations who aim to reduce the disparities in smoking rates between people with and without a mental health condition.
Around 1.6 million people with depression and anxiety smoke [1] and smoking is the leading contributor to the 10-20 year gap in life expectancy between people with mental health conditions and the general population [2] [3] [4]. Evidence shows that smoking increases the risk of developing schizophrenia and depression, while quitting smoking may be as effective for improving mental health as anti-depressants.[5]
The letter’s authors argue that actions to address smoking among people with mental health conditions have been “inadequate” and the lack of progress endangers the Government’s aim to make England smokefree by 2030. At the current rate of decline, smokers with a mental health condition won’t reach smokefree prevalence of 5% or less until the mid-2050s, almost 20 years later than those without a mental health condition.[6]
Javed Khan’s independent review of smokefree 2030 policies[7], published in June 2022, recommended that the Government tackle the issue of smoking and mental health by improving public and professional awareness of the benefits of quitting smoking for mental health, motivating smokers with poor mental health to quit and making stopping smoking a key part of mental health treatment.
The Khan review also recommended increasing the age of sale for tobacco to prevent future generations becoming hooked on smoking, as well as boosting funding for smokefree 2030 policies and stop smoking services.
Ministers have repeatedly committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan in 2022 to implement the Khan recommendations but this deadline has now been missed, leaving the Government without a strategy to deliver their smokefree ambition.
Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation and Co-Chair of the Mental Health and Smoking Partnership said:
“We know that smoking harms peoples’ physical and mental health, as well as reducing their incomes. Helping more people to quit this deadly addiction will improve mental health and wellbeing across our society and ease the pressure on NHS services this winter and beyond.
“However, without action people with mental health conditions risk being left behind as we move towards a smokefree society. The Government urgently needs to get on and publish an ambitious new tobacco control plan to deliver a smokefree 2030 for all.”
Prof Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King’s College London and Co-Chair of the Mental Health and Smoking Partnership, said:
“The roll out of NHS support for smokers in mental health services is an important step in reducing rates of smoking among people with mental health conditions.
“But as the Khan review says, this is only one piece of the puzzle. We need a national strategy to motivate more people with mental health conditions to make a quit attempt, increase awareness of the benefits of quitting for mental health and offer targeted stop smoking support to people with common mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.”
Full list of signatories:
Professor Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction, King’s College London, Co-Chair, Mental Health and Smoking Partnership
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation, Co-Chair, Mental Health and Smoking Partnership
Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive, Centre for Mental Health
Tom Madders, Co-CEO, YoungMinds
Simon Blake OBE, Chief Executive, Mental Health First Aid England
Kathy Roberts, Chief Executive, Association of Mental Health Providers
Sophie Corlett, Interim Chief Executive, Mind
Paula Ojok, Chief Executive, Helplines Partnership
Dr Adrian James, President, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness
Notes to the Editor
The Mental Health and Smoking Partnership is a coalition of organisations who aim to reduce the disparities in smoking rates between people with and without a mental health condition. The Partnership is coordinated by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
Action on Smoking and Health is a health charity working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use. For more information see: www.ash.org.uk/about-ash. ASH receives funding for its programme of work from Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.
References
[1] Wootton R, Sallis H, Manufò M. Is there a causal effect of smoking on mental health? A summary of the evidence. University of Bristol. 2022.
[2] Royal College of Psychiatrists. Primary Care Guidance on Smoking and Mental Health Disorders. 2014.
[3] Chesney E, Goodwin GM, Fazel S. Risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders: a meta-review. World Psychiatry 2014; 13(2):153–160
[4] Chang CK, et al. Life Expectancy at Birth for People with Serious Mental Illness and Other Major Disorders from a Secondary Mental Health Care Case Register in London. PLoS One. 2011; 6(5): e19590
[5] Taylor G, Girling A, Lindson-Hawley N. Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2014; 348(g1151): 1-22
[6] Mental Health and Smoking Partnership. Mental Health and Smoking Partnership recommendations for the Tobacco Control Plan for England 2021. 2021.
[7] Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. The Khan review: making smoking obsolete. Independent review by Dr Javed Khan OBE into the government’s ambition to make England smokefree by 2030. June 2022