Respiratory Diseases: Staffordshire
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the link between lung health and the adequacy of smoking cessation services in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
We are increasing our efforts to support smokers to quit and have invested an additional £70 million, this year and last, for local stop smoking services, in England. It is for local authorities to determine and commission the most appropriate stop smoking services for their area.
No specific assessment has been made of the impact of stop smoking services on lung health in these areas. However, we have commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact of our additional funding to stop smoking services, in which we look at partnerships with health providers.
There is also an established referral pathway between the NHS Targeted Lung Health Programme in University Hospital North Midlands and the local stop smoking service. The local NHS Targeted Lunch Health Check Programme also previously ran a pilot to offer smoking cessation support to patients through community pharmacies.
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