North East public supports a Smokefree Generation
New polling for World No Tobacco Day shows overwhelming backing for more action to reduce smoking
New polling results from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Fresh shows overwhelming North East public support to create a smokefree future. The results arrive as the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill enters its final stages in Parliament and ahead of World No Tobacco Day (Saturday, May 31).
The findings, from a nationally representative YouGov survey including over 600 adults in the North East, show two-thirds of the North East public (69%) back the ‘Smokefree Generation’ policy – the centerpiece of the new Bill – which would ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2009.
Even among smokers nationally, more than half (52%) support the move. Support is also strong in the North East for other measures: *
- 67% of people in the North East want to live in a country where no one smokes, with support spanning ages and incomes.
- Only 11% believe the Government is doing too much to tackle smoking – despite world-leading proposals already on the table. 47% believe the Government is not doing enough
- 89% of people support requiring businesses to hold a license to sell tobacco – a product which kills around 74,000 people in the UK a year – which can be removed for breaches in the law such as underage sales
- 80% support a levy placed on the profits of Big Tobacco to fund quitting support and prevention
- 81% of people in the NE support further action on cigarette butts that contain plastic to protect the environment
The results also show a shift in smokers’ attitudes, with increasing awareness of the harm smoking causes and growing calls for rules and better enforcement.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance said: “There is strikingly high support across the North East for measures to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco. Too many families in our region have seen a loved one suffer from smoking and don’t want this for their children and grandchildren. I myself lost my father when he was just 61 and have missed having him in my life.
“Over the last two decades we have seen measures from the smokefree law to standardised plain packaging and smoking banned in cars with children – and during this time public support for action on smoking has risen each year.
“People from all backgrounds recognise the need for action and want to see change. Health is at the top of most people’s priorities, and we know how most people who do smoke regret getting addicted and they desperately don’t want their own children to fall into the same trap.”
She added: “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a vital step toward protecting future generations, but we must also continue efforts to prevent uptake and support smokers to quit.
“Every day, 200 UK lives are lost to smoking and more people become addicted. At a time when health services are under increasing financial pressure, it’s only right that the tobacco industry is made to pay a levy to help fund prevention and quit support.”
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Newcastle and Gateshead, whose own father died from smoking at the age of 54, said: “Tobacco smoking is one of the deadliest addictions in history, bringing disease and death to families and communities. The fact these deaths were preventable makes it worse.
“The tobacco industry has been ruthless in its pursuit of financial profit from deadly products. They used a range of tactics which delayed policies aimed at protecting the health of the public, regardless of the damage caused.
“With cancers from smoking still rising and a cost of £43 billion every year to England’s health and economy, it is right we see further national action to reduce smoking and tobacco companies be made to pay a share of their profits towards supporting more people to quit.”
In 2023, Fresh with support from local authorities and the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board launched the Declaration for a Smokefree Future – a commitment to end the death and disease of tobacco.
The Declaration recognises how smoking has drained the region of lives and public resources and that a Smokefree Future would improve the health and wealth of our region’s most disadvantaged communities more than any other measure.
The public in the North East also backs tougher regulations to protect children from vaping, as 79% support banning names of sweets, cartoon characters, and bright packaging. Furthermore, 68% want warnings printed directly on cigarette sticks.
With the Bill nearing Royal Assent, health campaigners are calling on MPs to match the public’s appetite for action by:
- Passing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in full and ensuring its timely implementation.
- Introducing a Tobacco Industry Levy to fund stop-smoking services and prevention.
- Publishing a Roadmap to a Smokefree Country setting out how the government will deliver rapid reductions to create a country where no-one smokes.
(References)
ASH Smokefree Adult Survey 2025, n=13,314. Online GB survey conducted 10th February to 10th March 2025 by YouGov on behalf of ASH. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Great Britain (aged 18+). There were 616 adults in the North East in the survey.
*Sample not weighted to be representative of voters.