Local council support for smokers better than pre-pandemic

More than three quarters of local authorities were providing some form of dedicated specialist service for smokers last year, compared to 69 per cent in 2019.

Whilst there are positives to take from findings from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK’s annual national survey of local government stop smoking support, the two organisations also report that long term underfunding and forecast growth in demand for services due to new NHS programmes is placing pressure on services and has increased the urgency to improve local authority public health funding to meet these demands and tackle inequalities in the wake of the pandemic.

Local authorities adapted quickly to the challenges posed by the pandemic to make sure services were available for smokers. For example, by delivering these traditionally face-to-face services remotely, reaching out to vulnerable homeless populations being bought into hotels and finding new ways to support access to medications. However, 36 per cent reported that the emergency context had created positive opportunities for services to be delivered differently and reach more people, a further 34 per cent reported that the pandemic had compromised their ability to provide support.

The councils most likely to report negative impacts were those delivering their services through NHS partners in general practice and primary care, settings which were overwhelmed with the frontline pandemic response. Among those delivering through the NHS, 88 per cent reported negative impacts compared to just 25 per cent of local councils with separate dedicated service.

The report recommends that the government implement the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health recommendations necessary to secure a smokefree country by 2030, including a charge on tobacco companies to fund services. It also suggests that local government embed addressing smoking in their covid recovery plans as part of addressing inequalities and that new Integrated Care Boards collaborate with Local Government to ensure joined up plans across local government and the NHS to tackle smoking and maximise the opportunity to support more smokers to stop.

Malcolm Clark, Senior Policy Manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Smoking is a leading cause of health inequalities, so it’s great to see local authorities engaging with people who have the highest rates of smoking. However, this report also shows the harmful impact of years of funding cuts to public health budgets. To close the inequality gap, everyone who smokes must have access to effective specialist support to help them stop. Increased and sustainable funding for local tobacco control is vital for this to happen.”