Public health initiatives are becoming increasingly common efforts to improve the physical wellbeing of UK citizens. From sugar taxes to advertising restrictions, the public have mostly backed these policies. However, a new goal released last month may the most ambitious yet.
The Advancing Our Health Green Paper set out several aims to make 2020 the ‘decade of proactive, predictive, and personalised prevention’ (Department of Health and Social Care and Cabinet Office, 2019). Yet the most aspirational goal is to make England smoke-free by 2030. The report includes options for raising funds to support smoking cessation, and it also included a new measure to automatically offer smoking cessation services to any smoker who is admitted to hospital.
It is worth noting however that the Green Paper made no commitment to introduce a levy on tobacco companies to pay for stop smoking services – which has been called for by several health groups, including Action on Smoking and Health, for the past few years (Triggle, 2015).
The previous government aimed to make the country smoke-free by 2025, yet 14% of adults still smoke. While rates are declining, it is difficult to envision a society that is completely smoke-free. Smoking is still embedded into many social interactions and is arguably an element of British ‘pub culture’. Having said that, when banning smoking in public areas came into force in 2007, it proved very successful in improving public health and smoking rates declined.
A new Government document outlined several ambitions to increase public health, including plans to drastically reduce smoking rates
Only time will tell if outright bans, increased taxation or increased NHS funding will be successful in improving public health. The obvious comparison to smoking would the Government's promises to tackle the obesity crisis. Clear calorie labelling in restaurants and cafés, the ban on junk food advertising before 9 pm and banning the sale of energy drinks to children were all met with positivity from the health community. However, some politicians are less enthusiastic. The UK's new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has made it clear that he is opposed to more sugar or ‘sin’ taxes and similar interventions – which he said contribute to a ‘nanny state’ – and said that such taxes ‘clobber those who can least afford it’ (Rayner, 2019).
Public health initiatives are a pivotal junction between health and politics. Here at Practice Nursing, we would love to hear from you what you think about the Green Paper, Government health measures and whether you believe these interventions are successful in improving public health. Email pn@markallengroup.com.