England wants to fight social inequalities in the face of tobacco

The UK government is launching an independent review into the importance of social inequalities in the effectiveness of tobacco control. Better understanding of social inequalities in public health policies could help improve the effectiveness of tobacco control, and help make England smoke-free by 2030.

This study, carried out ahead of the publication of the Plan to Combat Smoking in England, is intended to provide the UK Government with reliable and independent expertise on the need to take account of social factors in the fight against smoking. The aim of this work is to guide the UK Government in its prevention campaigns and in the refinement of its policies to help people stop smoking.[1]The United Kingdom is characterised by a highly structured provision of treatment for tobacco and nicotine addiction.

The tobacco burden in England

Despite a sharp decline in tobacco consumption in the UK in recent years, tobacco remains a major health, economic and environmental issue. Indeed, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death, with 64,000 deaths per year. A recent study showed that smoking had caused nearly eight million deaths in the country since 1971. Without stronger tobacco control policies, the next two decades could see an additional two million deaths. At that point, the country, which has announced its goal of achieving a tobacco-free generation by 2030, would be seven years behind schedule.

Tobacco, revealer and reinforcer of social inequalities

Behind the national prevalence figures lie significant inequalities: in England as elsewhere, smoking is a real social marker, and primarily affects the most disadvantaged populations. Smoking prevalence varies greatly depending on the region: more working-class cities such as Manchester still have relatively high levels of consumption (20.8%), while Wokingham and Richmond upon Thames have much lower smoking prevalence (5.5% and 6% respectively). Furthermore, certain social groups seem to be more affected by smoking. Thus, as government figures highlight, 21.4% of manual workers declare themselves to be smokers. Similarly, smoking affects vulnerable people more intensely: 25.8% of people suffering from mental health problems are also smokers. While prevalence is tending to decrease sharply, the fight against smoking has many blind spots: one in ten British women is still a smoker at the time of giving birth.

FT

[1] Gov.uk, Press Release, Government launches landmark reviews to tackle health disparities, 04/02/2022, (accessed 07/02/2022)