Stuart Anderson MP has welcomed extra funding to support local stop smoking services. The City of Wolverhampton Council has been allocated £322,613 as part of a national initiative to help around 360,000 people quit smoking. There are estimated to be around 27,073 smokers in Wolverhampton - accounting for 13.40% of the adult population. The Government is investing an extra £70 million per year in local authorities with the highest smoking rates. This funding will be ringfenced for local authority-led stop smoking services.
Stuart has backed the move, which will more than double current spending to a total of £138 million per year. The extra funding is part of a wider set of measures to support existing smokers quit smoking and crack down on youth vaping. The funding will ensure there is a universal and comprehensive offer across local authorities in England, while providing additional weighted funding to local authorities with the highest smoking rates to level up the communities who need it most and address health disparities.
Smoking is the single most entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death in the UK. Up to two-thirds of smokers die of smoking, and those who start smoking as a young adult lose an average of 10 years of life expectancy. The Government is committed to creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke.
The Government is also providing funding (£5 million this year, £15 million thereafter) for new national campaigns to explain the legal changes, the benefits of quitting, and the support available. It will ensure the law is enforced by providing an extra £30 million a year for enforcement agencies and introducing on the spot fines for underage sales of tobacco products and vapes. The Government is also providing up to £10 million over 2 years to provide evidence-based financial incentives to support all pregnant smokers to quit.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “Smoking is the single most entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death in the UK. That’s why I welcome this investment to deliver better support for smokers to quit, including more than £322,613 for the City of Wolverhampton Council. Together with our other actions, this will help protect future generations from the harms of smoking, by creating the first smokefree generation.”