WIREDGOV

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board yesterday responded to a report by Action on Smoking and Health on the extra social care costs for smokers compared to non-smokers.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, yesterday said:

“Councils are responsible for public health and doing everything they can to help smokers quit, including running a range of innovative programmes and services to encourage them to stub out tobacco for good.

“While smoking rates continue to fall, there needs to be greater targeting of those groups most in need of support, including preventing younger adults from continuing the habit into later life and developing further health problems. 

“In order to achieve the Government’s Prevention green paper ambition of eliminating smoking by 2030, councils need adequate long-term funding for their public health services. We need to shift towards promoting healthy choices, preventing sickness and intervening early to minimise the need for costly social care and hospital treatment.   

“We also need the Government to publish its proposals for the future of adult social care as soon as possible, so that all those who use and work in social care have the support and certainty they need.”