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Councils awarded £2.5 million to stub out smoking

Councils in England will share a Department of Health grant of £2.5 million to help smokers quit, Public Health Minister Gillian Merron announced today.

Following negotiations by the Local Government Association, the 25 local authority areas with the highest numbers of smokers will each get grants of £100,000 specifically to help tackle smoking. This new funding will help councils improve the health of those who need it most by encouraging smokers to quit and discourage young people from taking up smoking.

The funding could be used to set up local anti-smoking marketing campaigns, support for trading standards to enforce regulations including age of sale and advertising of tobacco, or to work with local revenue and customs officers to combat the illicit tobacco market.

Smoking is one of the country's most significant health challenges, with smoking-related diseases resulting in more than 80,000 deaths every year.

Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said:

'We have made good progress on reducing overall smoking rates. Now we're helping people in areas with the highest rates of smoking - particularly among young people and those from the poorest communities - so that we can help them to kick the habit for good.'

Those local authorities taking part in the programme will meet today in Warwick. The two-day summit is designed to establish the network of councils involved and to provide an overview of why the work is important. It is an opportunity for councils to explore how the funding could be best used.

Improvement and Development Agency and the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services will work with the Local Government Association on the programme to help the 25 councils which are set to receive the grants. Support and advice will also be available from the Department of Health's Tobacco Control National Support Team.