City's plan to stub out cigarettes for good

In Liverpool, 17% of people are classed as smokers, the council says

Almost £2m is to be spent on an "ambitious strategy" to make a city "smoke free" by 2030.

Some 17% of Liverpudlians are classed as smokers and they spend almost £2,500 a year on the habit, the council said.

Proposals are being put forward to Liverpool City Council’s cabinet spelling out how to clamp down on the city’s “biggest preventable killer”.

The authority hopes a focus on prevention and embedding more smoke free environments will help to “denormalise” smoking.

A cabinet report said: “The council wants Liverpool to become a smoke free city allowing all its communities to live longer, healthier and wealthier lives in a city where they can play and work without exposure to the harms of tobacco smoke."

The plan, known as Stopping the Start, was drawn up following an independent review in 2022.

The council said: "Smoking is a major cause of health inequalities in Liverpool.

"In addition to causing avoidable illness, smoking does this disproportionately, by creating a greater burden for the most disadvantaged families and communities."

'Tobacco-related harm'

The council said an "ambitious strategy" was required to take a different approach to previous attempts to butt out cigarettes across the city.

The authority hopes focus on prevention activity and embedding more smoke free environments will help to “denormalise” smoking and curb the number of people taking up the habit.

If adopted as anticipated, the tobacco control alliance will lead the delivery of the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Chaired by Professor Matt Ashton, director of public health, it will also lead the creation of a detailed action plan that sets out a direction towards eliminating smoking and tobacco-related harm in Liverpool.

Existing funding of £1.1m ringfenced through the core public health grant will be used to fund the project in 2024/25, with an additional £831,000 made available through a support grant.

The strategy is being unveiled just days after the government’s proposals to prevent the sale of tobacco to anyone born after January 1 2009 were shelved ahead of the general election.

Both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour said they remained committed to the policy outlined in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.