Make Smoking History

We are proud to unveil the refreshed Making Smoking History in Greater Manchester framework, a bold six-year strategy (2024–2030) designed to accelerate our journey toward becoming a smokefree city-region. Since 2017, this evidence-based strategy has brought together city-region, local authority, and community-based programs, leading to record-low smoking rates.

Key Achievements:

• Smoking prevalence dropped from 18.4% in 2016 to 12.5% in 2023, with 90,000 smokers quitting for good.
• The number of pregnant women smoking at delivery fell by a third, resulting in 6,000 smokefree births.
• Innovations like the ‘Swap to Stop’ program and financial incentives for smokefree pregnancies have become national exemplars.

Despite this progress, over 284,000 people in Greater Manchester still smoke, with disadvantaged communities most affected. Smoking remains the leading cause of ill health and early death, contributing to 3,900 deaths annually.

A Renewed Vision for 2030:

The updated strategy aims to reduce smoking prevalence to below 5% by 2030, achieving:

• Significant reductions in healthcare costs and preventable deaths.
• Improved health equity by focusing on high-prevalence communities.
• An economic boost by redirecting the £2.54 billion annually lost to smoking-related costs.

Achieving this vision requires a 1.1% annual reduction in smoking rates through a holistic approach that includes prevention, cessation, and tobacco control, supported by the GMPower model:

• Empowering communities to champion smokefree living.
• Using robust data to monitor tobacco use and refine strategies.
• Expanding smokefree environments, homes, workplaces, and public spaces.
• Enhancing access to tailored quitting support, including the SmokeFree app.
• Raising awareness through targeted public health campaigns.
• Strengthening tobacco regulations and tackling illicit sales.

A key milestone in this strategy is the launch of the Smokefree Hospitals Toolkit. This comprehensive resource supports NHS trusts in creating and managing smokefree environments and workforces. Guided by behavioral science, the toolkit provides strategies for forming smokefree steering groups, developing robust policies, and training clinical teams to address tobacco dependency effectively.

By working together, we can make smoking history in Greater Manchester and create a healthier future for all. Let’s continue to drive progress and ensure every resident has the opportunity to thrive in a smokefree city-region.