Poll: English largely in favour of the fight against smoking

According to the NGO Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a large majority of English people support anti-smoking policies, in the context of the recent release of the UK Smoking Mission. For ASH, the consensus of public opinion on the need to implement policies to combat smoking should encourage public authorities to implement the measures recommended by the mission.

To mark the fifteenth anniversary of smoke-free legislation banning smoking in public spaces in England, ASH has published the findings of the Fifteen Smokefree Years report, an annual survey conducted by the public opinion polling company YouGov.[1].

The fight against smoking is popular, beyond party affiliation

Nearly three in four English people (74%) support the government’s ambition to become a smoke-free country by 2030, i.e. to reduce smoking prevalence in the English population to below 5%. As ASH points out, this measure is widely supported beyond the respondents’ political affiliation, with it being supported by 73% of those who voted for the Conservative Party in the 2019 election, and by 79% of those who voted for the Labour Party in the same election.

The English are in principle in favour of public policies to combat smoking

The majority of English people are also in favour of the principle of increased government intervention in the fight against smoking. Indeed, 76% of those surveyed said they either supported government action or requested additional action. This support is found among tobacco consumers, since 60% of smokers also said they supported or requested action against smoking. Today, only 6% of the population in England believes that the government is doing too much in the fight against smoking. By comparison, this figure was 51% in 2009, demonstrating the gradual shift of a majority of the population in favour of public health policies, a consequence of a denormalisation of smoking brought about by the implementation of public health measures.

Strong support for concrete measures

The opinion survey also sought to assess public support for specific measures proposed as part of the mission on smoking. Including very concrete applications, the report highlights strong support from the English. Thus, more than three-quarters of them are in favour of introducing a tax on tobacco manufacturers, in order to finance the fight against smoking and support for ex-smokers in quitting smoking. Furthermore, 83% of respondents believe that the sale of tobacco should be limited to a number of authorised sellers, 70% say they are in favour of increasing investment in information campaigns, and 62% support the inclusion of health messages on the cigarettes themselves.

FT

[1] Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Fifteen smoke-free years, 01/07/2022, (accessed 04/07/2022)