Survey shows funding uncertainty threatens progress on smoking

The latest Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK annual survey of local authorities has found a record expansion in local authority-run stop smoking services following major investment.[1] For the first time since the transfer of public health to local government a decade ago, all surveyed local authorities commissioned a stop smoking service, which provides essential support to those who want to quit.

Tobacco control was rated as a high or above-average priority in 88% of local authorities. This is the highest it’s ever been, up from 63% in last year’s survey (the previous highest year).

The last government committed an additional £70 million a year for local stop smoking services until 2030, along with extra funding to tackle the illicit market and a ‘swap to stop’ programme providing free e-cigarettes to those quitting smoking. The survey finds that this additional investment, which commenced in the last financial year, has enabled councils to expand and promote their quit smoking offer and provide more targeted support to communities with the highest levels of need.

The current government has committed to maintain the additional funding for stop smoking services and enforcement for the next financial year (2025/26). However, there is uncertainty over the status of the local public health grant (which contributes half the cost of local stop smoking services), the swap to stop programme, and national programmes such as financial incentives in pregnancy, mass media campaigns and investment in services through the NHS. Councils reported that the lack of certainty around long term funding has made recruitment, planning, and commissioning a challenge, putting stop smoking services at risk.

ASH has called on the government the match the investment made by the last government, given the significant burden that smoking places on public services and the economy. The government could further limit the burden on public finances by raising the funding needed through a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers, who continue to make massive profits selling a lethal addiction.

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
"Local government has made incredible strides in expanding stop smoking services, but this progress is at risk without a commitment to long-term funding. Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of ill health and death, and councils need certainty to continue providing targeted support for communities that need it most."

Jim Pattison, Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Action on Smoking and Health, said:
“Local services to help people quit smoking are a vital part of a roadmap to a smokefree country. However, the short-term nature of current funding undermines this goal, making it difficult to effectively plan, commission and deliver such services. A levy on tobacco companies would secure long-term funding and allow councils to accelerate progress towards a smokefree future, ending the harms from smoking for good.”

Alison Challenger, the Association of Directors of Public Health’s policy lead for addiction, said:
“Although incredibly welcome, short-term ring-fenced funding leaves vital, life-changing stop smoking services dependent on unstable financial arrangements. While this extra £70 million of funding has helped thousands of people to quit, to create a Smokefree UK we need to be able to give consistent support to people trying to quit over the coming years.

“The public health grant should, in theory, give that stability, but a decade of cuts has reduced it in real terms by 28% per person. Multi-year public health funding settlements would allow Directors of Public Health to provide services that are tailored towards the needs of residents in their local area. This would mean we could help thousand more people, not just to stop smoking, but also to access a wide range of other services and initiatives, and create a society where everyone, regardless of their background or income, is able to live healthier a life for longer.”

Alizée Froguel, Cancer Research UK’s prevention policy manager, said:
“Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and stopping completely is the best thing you can do for your health. While it’s positive that government investment is helping to expand and promote stop smoking services, communities across the UK need assurance that this funding will be sustained.

“We urge the UK government to produce a long-term strategy for cessation support that can be backed by a ‘polluter pays’ levy on the tobacco companies that profit from lethal addiction. The road to a smokefree UK should not be threatened by funding uncertainty – we need to give people the best chance of quitting.”

ENDS

Notes to the Editor
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is a health charity working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use. For more information, visit ash.org.uk. ASH receives funding for its program of work from Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation.

For interviews or more information, contact press@ash.org.uk

References
[1] Expansion and Renewal: Local authority stop smoking services and wider tobacco control in England, 2024. ASH and Cancer Research UK. [https://ash.org.uk/uploads/ASH-CRUK-Local-Authority-Survey-Report-2024.pdf]