Smokefree England: Covid-19 and PHE Abolition

Mary Foy, in her opening remarks, highlighted significant disparities in smoking rates between deprived and wealthy communities. She cited specific statistics such as the 17% smoking prevalence rate in County Durham compared to a national average of 13.9%, and stressed that smokers from poorer backgrounds lose an estimated £600 million annually due to unemployment and reduced income caused by smoking. Mary also urged the Government to develop a new tobacco control plan urgently, publish it in 2021, and commit additional funding for global tobacco control initiatives through Official Development Assistance.

The speaker congratulates Mary Kelly Foy on securing the debate, then outlines several questions for the Minister regarding the tobacco control plan, maternity safety programmes, mental health trusts implementing NICE guidance, and evidence-based advice for smokers with mental health conditions. Twist emphasises the importance of reducing smoking rates in England by 2030 to prevent illnesses and deaths caused by smoking. She notes that Blaydon has a higher smoking rate than the national average, leading to significant costs for healthcare and productivity losses. The speaker also discusses the NHS long-term plan's commitment to treating tobacco dependency among hospital patients, pregnant women, and those with mental health conditions. Progress in implementing these commitments varies across regions; progress is more advanced in the north-east but has been slowed by the pandemic. Twist highlights the need for a national strategy to reduce smoking rates during pregnancy among disadvantaged communities.

The speaker clarifies that due to few people present in the debate, she is not putting pressure on time limits and acknowledges the importance of points being made by the previous speaker.

In his speech, Steve Brine highlights the importance of focusing on public health goals set by previous tobacco control plans and prevention Green Paper. He expresses concern over the reorganisation of Public Health England, advocating for the retention of its expertise in areas such as smoking cessation and health prevention. Brine also calls for a new deal for public health to establish an institute within the Department of Health and Social Care dedicated to improving population health. He supports maintaining the ring-fenced public health grant and suggests exploring funding options like making polluters pay, similar to initiatives in France and the US. Brine emphasises that smoking remains the biggest cause of preventable death and a significant contributor to health inequalities. He calls for an updated tobacco control plan focusing on reducing smoking rates to 5% by 2030. Additionally, he questions the Minister's plans regarding heated tobacco products and the potential benefits of Brexit in advancing harm reduction policies.

The debate covers the issue of freeing smokers from addiction and its impact on health and human rights. The speaker congratulates Mary Kelly Foy for leading the debate and highlights the importance of public health policies in tackling smoking, especially in disadvantaged communities. He mentions that Northern Ireland has met a target of ensuring at least 5% of the smoking population accesses cessation services annually but is failing to meet targets regarding manual groups (from 31% to 20%) by 2020 and pregnant women (from 15% to 9%). The rate for manual groups lingers around 27%, while that for pregnant women has barely declined from 14%. There was a significant reduction in smoking among children aged 11-16, dropping from 8% in 2010 to 4%. Shannon urges the Minister to collaborate with Northern Ireland’s Health Minister to find solutions. He also highlights that smoking is linked to worse outcomes from coronavirus and can contribute to poverty by reducing disposable income available for local communities.

Committed to achieving a smokefree community by addressing health inequalities, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Highlighted the importance of cross-party working and praised the initiative of securing the debate on tobacco control. Emphasised the need for Public Health England's continuation and called for an urgent response from the Government regarding their prevention Green Paper. Stressed the economic impact of smoking, noting that it costs Nottingham £75 million annually with £11.5 million in NHS spending. Advocated for a robust national strategy, strong regional delivery, and effective local action to combat smoking rates. Raised concerns over cuts to public health budgets and urged the Government to commit to reinvigorating national-level quitting campaigns such as Stoptober. Concluded by proposing a smokefree fund as an innovative approach to improve funding for public health services.

The hon. Member for Melton and Syston thanked all participants in the debate, acknowledged the significant achievements made on tobacco control over the past two decades, and highlighted the ongoing need to address smoking-related issues. He emphasised that smoking still causes more than 78,000 deaths each year in England and the UK. The Government's commitment to tough tobacco control will continue after January 2021 with the laying of the Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Edward Argar praised ASH’s “Today is the Day” campaign, which has helped around one million smokers make a quit attempt during the pandemic. He also mentioned Public Health England's Better Health Stoptober campaign, which continues to support people quitting smoking during challenging times. The Minister emphasised the need for cross-party collaboration and highlighted that the UK is a world leader in tobacco control, with £15 million invested in official development assistance funding to support WHO’s FCTC 2030 five-year project. He also discussed the Government's approach to e-cigarettes regulation, emphasising its pragmatic and evidence-based nature.

Secured the debate focusing on tobacco control and smoking cessation in England. The hon. Member for City of Durham highlighted the importance of cross-party collaboration in tackling smoking-related issues, noting that smoking remains a significant public health concern despite progress made in recent years.

The hon. Member for Strangford brought an important perspective from Northern Ireland to the debate and asked if the Minister would engage with the Health Minister in Northern Ireland, Robin Swann, on this issue.

The hon. Member for Winchester mentioned the importance of regional and local approaches to addressing smoking-related issues through directors of public health.

The Member thanked all contributors for their involvement in the debate on reaching a smoke-free England by 2030. She acknowledged the importance of addressing health inequalities and called upon the Government to set out further steps towards this ambition.