Responding to the independent review of tobacco by Javed Khan,
which includes recommendations on raising the age of sale to 21,
increased investment in a comprehensive Smokefree 2030 programme
and an expansion of vaping, Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of
the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board,
said:
“Smoking-related illness is one of the leading causes of
preventable death in the UK and is a major challenge for our
health and social care system. As well as impacting upon health,
smoking places a significant burden on the public purse – to the
tune of £12.6 billion each year.
“We strongly support the Khan recommendation that government must
urgently invest an additional £125 million for tobacco control to
achieve its smokefree 2030 ambition.
“There is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes act as an
important gateway to help people to stop smoking and it is good
this is recognised in this report, but also that it is vital to
regulate them effectively and enforce the laws stringently, so as
to keep them out of the hands of children.
“Quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do
to improve your health. Smokers are four times more likely to
succeed in quitting when using a local stop smoking service.
“Councils want to go faster in improving the health of their
communities, including becoming smoke free but this needs to be
supported by adequate funding and stronger government policies,
including taking forward the recommendations of this review.”
