“Councils, which are responsible for public health, run a range of innovative programmes to help people quit smoking and have taken great strides in helping people to stub out tobacco for good."
Responding to the latest smoking statistics from NHS Digital which show the proportion of adults classified as current smokers has fallen, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Councils, which are responsible for public health, run a range of innovative programmes to help people quit smoking and have taken great strides in helping people to stub out tobacco for good.
“Despite this, smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death, responsible for 77,800 deaths a year. On top of that there are 489,300 hospital admissions each year that can be attributed to conditions caused by smoking.
“Clearly there is a lot more to be done and we must remind ourselves that we must not be complacent. Too many people are still smoking – 14.4 per cent of adults on the last count – and it remains the leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases. Our ultimate aim should be to become a smoke-free nation. We still have a long way to go.
“Councils are re-evaluating what they do on smoking cessation and tobacco control and how to be more effective, for example, reaching out to smokers with the greatest need such as routine and manual workers, pregnant smokers and those with mental illness.
“Councils remain committed to helping smokers quit, however this is made all the more difficult by reductions to the public health budget to the tune of £700 million, which councils use to fund stop smoking services. We have long argued that this is a false economy, which will only compound acute pressures for NHS and social care services further down the line. The Government needs to address this in the forthcoming Spending Review.”
Notes to editors
- Latest statistics available
- The LGA’s #CouncilsCan campaign aims to influence the forthcoming Spending Review and highlight the growing risk to vital local services if the Government does not take action to secure the financial sustainability of councils. Visit our campaign page for more information.
#CouncilsCan: Spending Review 2019
With the right funding and powers, councils can continue to lead local areas, improve residents’ lives, reduce demand for public services and save money for the taxpayer. Securing the financial sustainability of local services must be the top priority for the Spending Review.