Public Health England (PHE) wants to see a tobacco-free generation by 2025. Despite a continuing decline in smoking rates, nearly 1 in 5 adults still smoke and there are around 90,000 regular smokers aged between 11 and 15. The following shows what we know works to help people stop smoking.

Smoking and the harm it causes aren’t evenly distributed. People in more deprived areas are more likely to smoke and are less likely to quit. Smoking is increasingly concentrated in more disadvantaged groups and is the main contributor to health inequalities in England. Men and women from the most deprived groups have more than double the death rate from lung cancer compared with those from the least deprived. Smoking is twice as common in people with longstanding mental health problems.

There are relatively high smoking levels among certain demographic groups, including Bangladeshi, Irish and Pakistani men and among Irish and Black Caribbean women. Smoking in pregnancy increases the risks of miscarriage, stillbirth or having a sick baby, and is a major cause of child health inequalities.