Helping the smokers of Kent

Kent County Council is the largest local authority in England by population, covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres.

Although smoking prevalence is declining nationally and locally, smoking is still the main cause of premature mortality, accountable for 27% of all cancer deaths and a range of long-term health conditions. In Kent, it is estimated that 11.6% of the adult population smoke, but smoking rates are much higher among some groups, particularly those in lower socio-economic and vulnerable communities, making smoking a major risk factor for health inequalities.

In 2019, the government set an objective for England to be Smokefree by 2030, meaning only 5% of the population would smoke by then. This supports the government manifesto commitment to extend health life expectancy by five years by 2035.

As part of this objective, in 2023 the government published Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, which set out proposed actions the government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping.

“The Allen Carr method has a track record of helping people stop smoking. I’m excited to see the results from making this clinically-proven intervention available to our residents to help them quit, enjoy better health, wellbeing and save money.”
Dan Watkins
Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health

“With the help of this extra quit route, we hope to help even more residents discover kicking the habit, as our latest stop smoking campaign says, is ‘Well Worth It’ – including those who have tried to quit before.”
Dr Anjan Ghosh
Kent County Council Director of Public Health