England cutting back on smoking quit services

About forty percent of local authorities in England are cutting budgets to stop smoking services according to a new Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) report published by Cancer Research UK (CR UK).

“Thousands of people will want to quit smoking this New Year and free stop smoking services provided by local councils provide vital support to help them achieve that goal,” said George Butterworth of CR UK. “These services are under threat from a lack of sustainable funding.”

In the second study of its kind, tobacco control experts from 126 local authorities across England were asked about their stop smoking services, their budgets and how well their services were integrating since moving to local government in 2013, said a CR UK press note.

‘The new 2014/15 report finds that in two out of five areas funding is being cut back,’ it said. ‘In addition half of all services are being reconfigured or recommissioned indicating a high level of change across the country.

‘The previous 2013/14 report reviewed the first full year of tobacco control moving to local authorities from PCTs [Primary Care Trusts]. The results were generally positive but there were significant concerns flagged about future cuts to services.’

The CR UK press note is at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/press-release/2016-01-13-stop-smoking-services-at-threat-as-funding-comes-under-pressure

The ASH report is at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/reading_between_the_lines_-_tobacco_control_in_england_january_2016.pdf.