This report sets out a comprehensive strategy to reduce smoking-related inequalities and ensure disadvantaged communities are not left behind in the transition to a smokefree society.

Smoking remains one of the most significant drivers of poverty, ill health and reduced life expectancy. Smoking prevalence is around 2.5 times as high in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived, and current rates of decline mean the difference is not narrowing.1 Without a more targeted approach, affluent communities are projected to reach less than 1% smoking long before disadvantaged populations, entrenching inequality further.

People who smoke should not be blamed or stigmatised for their addiction. Smoking is not a lifestyle choice; it is a highly addictive behaviour that the vast majority of smokers regret starting. Most begin in childhood or adolescence, long before they are fully able to understand the long-term consequences. While the picture is not uniform across all measures, disadvantaged smokers generally face greater barriers to quitting. As a result, when disadvantaged smokers try to stop, they are less likely to succeed.

The impact of people’s addiction to smoking goes far beyond the health impact. New analysis for this report estimates that tobacco expenditure pushes an additional 417,000 households below the poverty line, including 137,000 children. Smoking also deepens hardship among households already living in poverty by reducing money available for essentials such as food, heating and housing. The analysis finds that 955,000 households are in deeper poverty when tobacco expenditure is accounted for. Altogether 1.37m households are living in poverty when smoking is taken into account.