Key tobacco control report focuses on children

Javed Khan’s report on tobacco control policy, published on 9 June 2022, will inform the forthcoming tobacco control plan for England.1 The government’s ambition is to reduce smoking prevalence to below 5% by 2030,2 but like others,3 Khan estimates this target will not be met with the current trajectory. The report’s conclusions were based on research evidence and consultation with academics, people who smoke, public health bodies, clinicians, UK based smoking cessation services, and regulatory agencies from across the world.

Khan makes 15 main recommendations, including four “critical” recommendations: an extra £125m (€145m; $152m) investment in tobacco control, raising the legal age of sale for all tobacco products, active promotion of vaping as a quit smoking tool, and a bigger …