Public Health experts at Nottinghamshire County Council are welcoming the recommendation of an independent national review into Tobacco Control Policies which could help England become smokefree by 2030.

Its recommendations include the following four key critical interventions: raising the age of sale from 18 by one year every year, until eventually no one can buy a tobacco product in this country; increased investment of an additional £125 million per year in smokefree 2030 policies, with an extra £70 million per year ringfenced for stop smoking services; promotion of vapes as an effective 'swap to stop' tool to help people quit smoking; and improving prevention in the NHS so smokers are offered advice and support to quit at every interaction they have with health services.

Smoking remains the single biggest preventable cause of death and illness in England. It is estimated to kill 1,124 people in Nottinghamshire and approximately 1000 young people take up the habit in the county each year.

Councillor Dr John Doddy, Chairman of Nottinghamshire's Joint Health & Wellbeing Board, said: "As a local GP, I see at first-hand the devastating impact that tobacco can have on a person's health and wellbeing. So, I'm delighted that the independent review is suggesting these greater powers to help us make smoking obsolete and protect future generations from serious disease and financial loss.

"We are working with our partners to tackle this issue in Nottinghamshire and have identified tobacco as one of the nine priorities of our new Health and Wellbeing Strategy."

In Nottinghamshire, recent work to reduce smoking includes supporting people to quit smoking through the Your Health Your Way's Stop Smoking Service. Individuals are three times more likely to successfully quit smoking with the help of trained advisors.

Nottinghamshire Trading Standards service does a variety of work enforcing legislative compliance, including disrupting illegal tobacco sales. More than £58,680 worth of illegal cigarettes have been seized in Nottinghamshire in the last two years as part of the county's commitment to tackling the sale of illegal tobacco.

There is also a locally co-ordinated 'Love Bump' campaign to encourage pregnant women to stop smoking.

In September 2022, a Smoking Prevention programme will be rolled out to secondary schools in Nottinghamshire to help to stop young people from taking up smoking.

Councillor Matt Barney, Chairman of Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, said: "As part of the Nottinghamshire plan, we are committed to helping people live healthier lives. Anyone from Nottinghamshire who wants to quit smoking can get free support from our stop smoking service, Your Health Your Way. They provide one to one support that's tailored to each person's needs, and it really works. You can make an online referral or just give them a call."

There is widespread public support for measures to end smoking. A 2021 YouGov survey commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), found that more than three quarters (76%) of the public support the Government's Smokefree 2030 ambition.

To contact Your Health Your Way, click here, call 0115 772 2515 or email [email protected].