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Smoking cessation is a government priority but smokers and vapers often struggle to access stop-smoking services, as Victoria Goldman explains…

While UK smoking rates have declined significantly in recent decades (from 18.8 per cent in 2013 to 11.9 percent in 2023), new University College London (UCL) research published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research and funded by Cancer Research UK has revealed that more than 78 million cigarettes are smoked in England, Wales and Scotland every day, translating to about 900 being lit up every second.

According to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), smoking-related illness costs the NHS around £1.8 billion every year in England alone, so it’s not surprising that smoking cessation remains a government priority.

According to the Statistics on Local Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2025 to June 2025, published in October 2025, over 3,000 people set a quit date through pharmacy, and 41 per cent of these people quit successfully.

However, a Healthwatch blog in January 2025 revealed that smokers and vape users often struggle to access stop-smoking services, and therefore the promotion of these services could be improved.

The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA)’s 2025 Prospectus highlights that commissioned capacity (or delivery) of NHS smoking cessation services is falling behind demand.

The CCA has proposed ‘walk-in’ commissioned smoking cessation services through community pharmacies, since many pharmacy teams are already trained to help people to quit smoking, and patients need easy access to smoking cessation advice. However, funding is a major barrier to expanding existing services.

Funding limits

Amandeep Doll, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) director for England, says that community pharmacies are ideally placed to deliver smoking cessation support, but current funding is limited to the patients referred from hospital.

Statistics on Local Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2024 to December 2024 (published in April 2025), revealed that during this quarter only 162,665 consultations were completed by stop smoking services across England overall, but the national community pharmacy service received only 11,000 referrals from hospitals in the whole of 2024.

“Wider commissioning and sustained investment are needed to unlock the full potential [of existing NHS stop smoking services through community pharmacies] and ensure equitable access across England,” says Amandeep.

“Uptake remains low due to referral restrictions and regional variation in commissioning, which limits patient access. Broader access depends on local commissioning, which varies significantly across England and restricts service reach.”

More people could benefit from stop smoking support through pharmacies

Alastair Buxton, the director of NHS services at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), says improved funding would mean that many more people could be benefitting from stop smoking support through community pharmacies.

“Pharmacy teams have always been a key part of local smoking cessation efforts, offering easily accessible support, but variability in local public health budgets has led to a postcode lottery in provision,” he says.

“The national NHS Smoking Cessation Service, launched in 2022, has been beneficial for patients, but it has a very limited scope, and referral numbers into the service have been low. We strongly recommend the commissioning of a more comprehensive national service from pharmacies, building on the existing limited Advanced service.”

CPE would like to see an open-access pharmacy smoking cessation Advanced service for all smokers and users of vapes.

“The Taskforce for Lung Health has backed broadening the service’s eligibility as part of our joint Action Plan, setting out how community pharmacies could be enabled to provide more support to patients with respiratory conditions,” says Alistair Buxton.

“Government should be harnessing the sector’s potential to help deliver key public health targets such as those on smoking cessation, although any expansion of pharmacy services must be fairly funded with additional funding over and above the current global sum.”

Nick Hunter, the chief officer at Community Pharmacy Nottinghamshire and Community Pharmacy Derbyshire, says that that pharmacy-based NHS smoking cessation services aren’t financially viable at present because of the small numbers involved.

“Pharmacists also have to recoup the costs of the training programme,” he says. “If they are seeing only half-a-dozen smoking cessation patients a month, this isn’t cost-effective. A lot of councils include smoking under a wider lifestyle concept.

“This works well for leisure providers who have the building space suited to group sessions and can include activity and weight management as well. Financially, this is more effective, with 20 to 30 people in a room together rather than on a one-to-one basis in a pharmacy setting.”

Individualised care

Research at University College London on ‘Prevalence of Popular Smoking Cessation Aids in England and Associations with Quit Success’, published online in January 2025, revealed that face-to-face behavioural support (used by 2.2 percent of quitters) was associated with higher odds of quitting success among those from less advantaged – but not more advantaged – socioeconomic positions.

Research also shows that tailored (or individualised) smoking cessation interventions are particularly effective, both clinically and financially.

Kenny Chan, Numark's Lead Information Services pharmacist, says every person’s journey to quitting smoking is unique, and pharmacy teams are perfectly positioned to offer personalised support.

“By understanding each customer’s specific needs, challenges and motivations, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can tailor their advice and recommendations,” he says.

“Whether it’s suggesting nicotine replacement therapies, providing information on prescription medications, or offering lifestyle tips, personalised support can make all the difference. Pharmacies can also offer behavioural support, providing advice on how to cope with cravings or triggers, and schedule follow-up consultations and check-ins.”

Ongoing support is essential because smoking cessation is a continuing process. Nicotine cravings can last for several months, and behavioural smoking triggers can be even more difficult to overcome.

“Regular consultations help patients stay motivated and align treatment with their goals,” says Amandeep Doll, “making pharmacies a trusted partner in quitting. Community pharmacies provide a range of options including NRT products, e-cigarettes, and prescription treatments like cytisine. When combined with expert behavioural support, these tools significantly improve the chances of long-term success.”

Digital tools or apps can help to support and track a customer’s smoking cessation progress. However, Nick Hunter says these may have limitations.

“AI can do personalisation to some degree, but it’s how someone interacts with an app or digital tool that’s important. The NHS also doesn’t personalise well, so more funding needs to go into personalising smoking cessation services,” he says.

“Ideally, community pharmacies should be funded as health providers for prevention as well as active treatment, providing a more holistic approach to healthcare within existing services and programmes.

“This includes the New Medicines Service, Hypertension Case Finding Service and even appropriate Pharmacy First clinical pathways – smokers tend to suffer more than nonsmokers from coughs and colds, for example.”