Smoking cessation services face funding uncertainty, survey reveals

The survey from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK has revealed that 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, providing essential support to those who want to quit.

Tobacco control was rated as a high or above-average priority in 88 per cent of local authorities. This is the highest it’s ever been, up from 63 per cent in the 2023 survey (the previous highest year).

The previous government committed an additional £70m 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 found that this additional investment, which commenced in the 2023/2024 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.