Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a Roadmap to a Smokefree country to ensure that areas like Blackpool and Fleetwood, where smoking rates are higher than the national average, can support every smoker who wants to quit.

The previous Government’s ambition was to reduce adult smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2030. We are going even further. Our ambition is to deliver a smoke-free United Kingdom and the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act will create the first smoke-free generation which is expected to help reduce smoking rates of 14 to 30-year-olds to near zero by 2050.

We fully recognise the importance of stopping people starting smoking, but also of supporting smokers to quit. Alongside the Tobacco and Vapes Act, we have ringfenced funding for stop smoking services within the Public Health Grant, protecting at least £153 million per year for these services. Funding is weighted towards areas with higher smoking prevalence, ensuring we are targeting support to those who need it most, ensuring no one is left behind.

Our immediate focus is on the successful implementation of the smoke-free generation policy and moving swiftly with the secondary legislation programme. We will continue to consider the benefits of publishing a smoke-free roadmap, balancing it against the importance of successfully implementing our significant legislative programme.