Smoking figures show progress, but the government cannot be complacent

However, analysis, reported in the government’s independent review of tobacco policy, has shown that without speeding progress the government will miss their ambition for England to be ‘smokefree’ by 2030 defined as fewer than five per cent of the population smoking. There are also concerns that progress may have slowed in 2022 with the University College London’s long running study of smoker’s behaviour finding no declines in rates of smoking through this year with data running up to October 2022.

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said, “Smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and death so the progress shown is great news. But government must not be complacent. They first promised to publish a new Tobacco Control Plan for England in 2021 but we still have seen no plan for how they will meet that goal. Without one we will not meet the vision of being smokefree by 2030.”