Tobacco control: what you need to know

This page brings together key resources and guidance to support professionals working in local tobacco control. It should provide a good starting point for getting up to speed with the current landscape, the rationale for focusing on tobacco control and action to prioritise locally.

Tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and inequalities in the UK. Addressing the harm from smoking was ranked as a key priority in 88% of councils in 2024. The UK government has committed to creating a smokefree generation and halving the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions in England. Local authorities have a vital role to play in delivering these objectives through enforcing national regulations and supporting smokers to quit and stay smokefree.

The resources linked below are all available on the ASH local toolkit.

Implementing NICE guidance on smoking – NICE guideline [NG209] sets out evidence-based practice for supporting people to quit smoking. The National Centre on Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) has developed several briefings designed to support implementation of NICE guidance in local stop smoking services. These are available on the NCSCT website with key information linked below:

• Standard treatment programme: A guide to providing behavioural support for smoking cessation
• Maximising the impact of stop smoking services: latest evidence and best practice
• Local Stop Smoking Services and support: commissioning, delivery and monitoring guidance
• Information on varenicline and cytisine
• Guidance on vaping

10 high impact actions for local authorities – This practical guide sets out the top ten actions local authorities can take to drive down smoking rates and reduce inequalities in their communities.

Maximising the impact of the new funding for tobacco control – This ASH briefing explains how to most effectively use the additional funding for local stop smoking services to accelerate declines in smoking prevalence and reduce health inequalities. The briefing was launched in April 2024 with a webinar featuring case studies and examples of best practice. The recordings and slides are available online.

The end of smoking – This is short guide produced by ASH and Fresh sets out the overarching strategy local authorities should take to reduce smoking rates.

Developing a system-wide tobacco control programme – This set of resources has been developed by ASH to support councils and NHS organisations to collaborate on tobacco control at a supra-local level. Areas with strong regional and system-wide collaboration have typically achieved greater declines in smoking prevalence than those without. The resources include briefings, template slidesets on ‘making the case’ and ‘building the strategy’ and examples of system working. The launch webinar for these resources includes case studies from areas that have implemented system-wide tobacco control programmes.

Local Alliances Roadmap – This roadmap developed by ASH and Fresh includes guidance and resources to support local tobacco control alliances to deliver evidence-based activity to reduce smoking prevalence and work towards a smokefree generation.

Protecting health policy from the tobacco industry – Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires public bodies to protect health policy from tobacco industry influence. ASH has developed a toolkit with resources and guidance to support local authorities to implement Article 5.3 effectively. The Local Government Association have also produced guidance for local government officers and elected representatives setting out how local councils should manage engagement with the tobacco industry.

The National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) offers evidence-based e-learning and in-person training for health and social care practitioners covering:

• Behavioral support and VBA+
• Swap-to-Stop
• Secondhand smoke
• Stop Smoking Medications and vaping

The local cost of smoking – The ASH Ready Reckoner has a breakdown of the costs of smoking broken down by region, local authority, combined authority, constituency and ward. It includes costs derived from lost productivity, healthcare, social care and smoking-related fires.

Health inequalities – The ASH Inequalities Dashboard shows the health and wealth related inequalities caused by tobacco at a national, regional, local authority and combined authority level. It includes stats about the impact of smoking on priority populations such as those with serious mental health conditions, those in routine and manual occupations and in pregnancy.

Public support for tobacco control – ASH carries out regular polling on public support for tobacco control policies. This data is broken down by region and parliamentary constituency.

DHSC Smoking Profile – The Smoking Profile provides information on tobacco use, tobacco-related harms, mortality and inequalities. This data is broken down by region, local/combined authority and ICB.

Smoking Toolkit Study – The Smoking Toolkit Study run by University College London is a long-running survey with data on:

• Smoking prevalence over time in different groups
• Vaping prevalence
• Quitting motivation/success/aids

Adult smoking habits in the UK – The ONS publishes annual data on smoking and vaping behaviour in the UK. This can be broken down by local authority, age, sex and other personal characteristics.

Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England – The NHS publishes annual data on smoking and vaping behaviour among young people in England.

The Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control is a way for councils to signal their commitment to comprehensive action to address the harm from smoking. It has been signed by 120 councils over the last decade. Signing the Declaration or renewing your existing commitment provides an opportunity secure internal support for tobacco control activity and hold your council to account. The full list of signatories is available here.

The Smokefree Action Coalition (SFAC) is a group of over 300 organisations across the UK committed to ending smoking. It includes third sector organisations, academic groups, councils, NHS organisations and professionals from across the country working in healthcare and tobacco control. ASH coordinates the Coalition and provides regular updates to members. Join the Coalition to receive updates on the latest developments in tobacco control and opportunities to support national campaign activity.

ASH publishes annual reports examining the state of local tobacco control activity and smoking cessation services in England. The reports set out the results from an annual survey of tobacco control leads in England. The 2024 report found that:

• The priority of tobacco control in local authorities in England has risen to its highest recorded level, with 88% of councils ranking tobacco control as a high or above average priority.
• For the first time in ten years, all surveyed local authorities commissioned a stop smoking service.
• Year-on-year demand for stop smoking services increased in 48% of surveyed local authorities.
• A huge expansion of stop smoking services is underway, driven by the additional £70 million investment in stop smoking services.

ASH held a webinar to launch the 2024 report which included case studies from areas using innovative approaches to support smokers to quit. The recording and slides can be viewed online.

Assessing your tobacco control strategy – CLeaR is an evidence-based approach to assessing local tobacco control activity. The CLeaR self-assessment tools can be used by professionals working in local councils and the NHS. Although the resources are no longer being updated they may still provide a useful framework for assessing local activity.