Birmingham’s plan to tackle smoking and create a ‘smoke-free culture’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made it abundantly clear in recent weeks and months that he is committed to creating a ‘smoke-free generation’. Earlier this month, MPs backed the government’s plan which means that each year the legal age for cigarette sales - currently 18 - would increase by one year.

It also means that people born in or after 2009 would never be able to legally buy cigarettes but the law would not affect those who are already allowed to do so. Mr Sunak has previously said he wants to “build a better future for our children” and tackle what he describes as an “entirely preventable cause of ill health, disability and death.”

Meanwhile Birmingham City Council has recently revealed its own plans to tackle smoking in communities across the Second City. At a recent cabinet meeting, the Labour-run council agreed to accept additional funding from the government, totalling just under £1.7million for 2024/25, for local stop smoking services.

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Rob Pocock, interim cabinet member for health, welcomed the funding, saying: “We need to make sure a smoke-free culture becomes a standard set across the city. This is a substantial sum of money which will help us down that route and we’re potentially looking at five years’ work.”

“We note the harms caused by smoking and the burden it places upon our health systems,” Cllr Majid Mahmood added. “This funding will no doubt support programmes which lead to people becoming healthier and leading more productive lives.”

According to a report, the current targets set for Birmingham City Council is to achieve 1,959 smokers setting a quit date in year one. The targets are then 3,119 in year two, 6,602 in year three and 7,762 in years four and five.

In order to help do this and embark on the road to becoming a smoke-free culture, the city council has a number of proposed steps forward. The report says that they include increasing the local ‘Swap to Stop’ offer and provision of vapes to support smokers to quit as well as developing a campaign to promote awareness of local services.

The council could also aim to increase referrals from a range of settings, such as mental health services and workplaces, as well as increase ‘smoking cessation adviser capacity’ through the training of local healthcare and community staff. At the cabinet meeting this week, Cllr Nicky Brennan also argued more should be done around vaping, adding that disposal vapes and their range of flavours could appeal to young people.

Cllr Pocock responded: “We noted in the recent budget papers that we have actually put extra resources into public health to support the enforcement of the under-18 vaping ban and that’s an important step forward to deal with both the addictive elements and the environmental impacts. So I think that’s a counterpart to the initiative on smoking cessation of course but hopefully we can take forward both of those initiatives together.”

The government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also introduce new powers to restrict vape flavours and packaging that is intentionally marketed at children. Earlier this year, the government also confirmed that disposable vapes were set to be banned.

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