Government pledges to end smoking by 2030

As part of a range of measures to tackle the causes of preventable ill health, the government has pledged to end smoking in England by 2030.

The government had previously aimed to create a smoke-free society - with smoking rates close to zero - by 2025.

Other priorities in the green paper, which aims to reduce the number of years spent in poor health, include promoting physical activity, developing guidelines on sleep and targeting those at risk of diabetes.

The paper, which will now be consulted on, says that the government will help those in deprived areas who currently experienced the longest periods of poor health, by ensuring any smoker admitted to hospital automatically gets offered help to quit, extending tooth brushing schemes in nurseries and primary schools, encouraging ‘active play’ , and doubling funding for the diabetes prevention programme which targets lifestyle support to those most at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The release of the paper has caused controversy, with Theresa May urging for the publication to be revealed before the new leader of the Conservative Party is announced, whereas Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, preferred to wait.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “There are serious questions for Matt Hancock to answer on why he has slipped this important green paper out at this time. It looks like he is trying to bury bad news and that he buckled under pressure from Boris Johnson and the corporate lobbyists running his campaign.

“With advances in life expectancy stalling, infant mortality rates worsening and health inequalities widening, this green paper is hugely disappointing. Proposals to extend the sugar tax to milkshakes have been shelved again and an expected levy on tobacco firms to fund smoking cessation services appear to have been kicked into the long grass.

“The Tories have imposed £800 million worth of cuts to public local health services and there is no indication these cuts will be reversed. Sadly this green paper is a missed opportunity, raises disturbing questions about the role of lobbyists in watering it down, and isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Only Labour will prioritise health inequalities and fully fund public health services.”

Jo Bibby, director of Health at the Health Foundation, said: “With health inequalities in England widening and life expectancy improvements stalling, this green paper amounts to a missed opportunity. Perhaps unsurprisingly at a time of political uncertainty, the government has stepped back from the bold action required. But this should concern us all when ambitious whole-government action is urgently needed to tackle the root causes of ill health – including poverty and deprivation, poor housing, poor quality work, social isolation and poor quality environments.

“By its own admission the government states that this green paper only goes some way to delivering its goal of five extra years of healthy life by 2035 while narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest. But if it is not in the remit of a government prevention strategy to do this then where does the responsibility fall? Our analysis shows that if things continue as they are, it could take as long as 75 years – not 16 – to reach this goal.  

“Aspects of the paper are welcome, including the creation of a health index for England setting the population’s health on a par with GDP; the recognition of the need for a stronger focus on prevention across all areas of government policy; and the focus on joint working between the NHS and local government. However, with its emphasis on individual-level action and with no mention of the necessary local government funding, the approach risks exacerbating rather than reducing health inequalities."