WIREDGOV

A Local Government Association spokesperson responded to a report by The Science and Technology Committee on misconceptions about e-cigarettes

“Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, responsible for nearly 79,000 deaths a year, so any initiatives to help the one in five people smoking should be encouraged.

“Since the advent of e-cigarettes, we have seen the number of users of smoking cessation services fall, while the population of smokers left is now more challenging to get to quit.

“Councils, which are responsible for public health, run a range of innovative programmes to help people quit smoking and have taken great strides in helping people to stub out tobacco for good. But central government reductions to the public health budget which is used to fund stop smoking cessation services is making this difficult and will only increase acute pressures for NHS services further down the line.”

Notes

Councils’ public health budgets have been reduced by £600 million between 2016/17 and 2020/21

View report: here