Local councillors across England have urged the Government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers and to replace the expired plan to control tobacco.
The call for a levy and a new Tobacco Control Plan follows a new report from Cancer Research UK warning that the UK Government is almost a decade behind achieving its target for England to be smokefree by 2030.
The Tobacco Control Plan for England, published in 2017, expired at the end of 2022.
In response to Cancer Research UK’s report, nearly 50 councillors have written to the secretary of state for health and social care, Steve Barclay MP, urging the Government to bring forward a new Tobacco Control Plan and to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers.
Coordinated by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK, the letter highlights the fact that smoking is responsible for around 125,000 deaths per year and around 150 new cancer cases every day.
It also warns that an estimated £3.6bn each year goes on smoking-related health and social care costs in England.
The letter reads: ‘Public health budgets have been squeezed, with many of us forced to make difficult decisions about the services we can offer to support our constituents. As councils, we are uniquely positioned to drive forward activity on tobacco across place and system. However, without bold national action and sustainable funding solution, our efforts will not be enough.
‘We urge you to publish a bold new Tobacco Control Plan including a "polluter pays" levy without delay to secure the investment we need to make the Smokefree 2030 ambition a reality in our communities.’
