The government has confirmed how much additional money each local authority will receive for smoking cessation services in 2025/26.
The funding, which totals £70m per year, was announced in November 2023 as part of the previous government’s plans to create a smokefree generation.
The new Labour government has continued this intention, introducing a bill to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and imposing limits on the sales and marketing of vapes.
The government said the £70m will be allocated across England to support local authority-led stop smoking services. The funding is targeted towards local authorities with the most smokers, with allocations based on the average smoking prevalence in each area over a three-year period between 2021 and 2023.
The table below outlines the maximum amount of funding each area could receive, but the government stressed that local authorities will be required to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the additional funding.
Kent and Essex are the two local authorities with the highest number of smokers, and therefore could receive the most funding for stop smoking services – a maximum of £1,891,779 and £1,882,537 respectively.
And with just 231 estimated smokers, the Isles of Scilly could receive up to £2,854 of the funding.
It comes as new research has found smokers who choose to quit on New Year’s day could save a whole day of their life by 8 January.
The research, from University College London, found that on average, every cigarette smoked takes off 20 minutes of life, which equates to nearly seven hours lost with every 20 pack of cigarettes smoked.
Separate research by Censuswide found that more than half (53%) of smokers are planning on quitting as a new year’s resolution this year.
Public Health Minister, Andrew Gwynne, said: ‘Smoking is an expensive and deadly habit, and these findings reveal the shocking reality of this addiction, highlighting how important it is to quit.
‘The new year offers a perfect chance for smokers to make a new resolution and take that step. For anyone looking to quit in 2025, the NHS provide a range of services to help break free from the habit.’
Sarah Jackson, principal research fellow at the UCL Alcohol and Tobacco Research Group, said: ‘It is vital that people understand just how harmful smoking is and how much quitting can improve their health and life expectancy.
‘The evidence suggests people lose, on average, around 20 minutes of life for each cigarette they smoke. The sooner a person stops smoking, the longer they live. Quitting at any age substantially improves health and the benefits start almost immediately.
‘It’s never too late to make a positive change for your health and there are a range of effective products and treatments that can help smokers quit for good.’
A version of this story was first published on our sister title The Pharmacist.
