Fri 12 July 2019:
Media reports said the British government plans to eradicate smoking in the country by 2030. The plans leaked to The Daily Mail newspaper, say leaflets on how to quit would have to be inserted into every cigarette packet. Those plans will be officially announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock next week.
Tobacco companies rather than health providers will allegedly be made to cover the cost of helping people to quit smoking, according to the leaked documents seen by the Daily Mail, which also reported that quit leaflets will be placed inside cigarette packets, and black market cigarettes would also be targeted. The details are contained in a Green Paper, a preliminary policy plan published by the government.
It will reportedly warn that “there’s still much to do” to convert the 15 percent of adults who are not smoke-free to “finish the job.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “I’m afraid we can’t comment on leaks.” Smoking remains the UK’s biggest preventable cause of cancer. Around 5.9 million people smoked cigarettes in 2018 -14.4 percent of the population- the latest figures analyzed by NHS Digital show. That is down from 7.7 million in 2011 (19.8 percent).
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