County Council health bosses, Cllr Richard Howitt and Jyoti Atri, have welcomed the commitment set out in His Majesty The King’s speech for consultation towards establishing a “smokefree generation”.
Cllr Richard Howitt, chair of Adults and Health Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “Our ambitions as a council include reducing health inequalities and protecting the health of children, and I am delighted that there is cross-party support for a new bill which, if approved, will help us with our strategy with targets to cut smoking, protect children and young people from vapes and improve health.
“In June, the Adults and Health Committee agreed a new set of actions, working with our health partners, to help decrease the number of people in Cambridgeshire who smoke. Particularly, in Fenland where rates are increasing.
“As a council, we have already recognised the need to tighten the regulation of the sale of illegal tobacco, alongside illegal sales of vapes to young people.”
Jyoti Atri, Director of Public Health for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: “We welcome the announcement yesterday and, as a county council, we will be responding to the consultation. Smoking is still the worst thing you can do for your health. This is a step towards protecting future generations from the harms of smoking and vaping.”
The announcement also comes at a time when the council’s Trading Standards team has noticed a rise in illegal vapes, in two months they seized more than 5,000.
The smoking strategy agreed in June 2023 - New actions set out to prevent smoking across Cambridgeshire - Cambridgeshire County Council
