England may not be ‘smoke-free’ until 2039, cancer charity warns

Five years ago, the UK government announced plans to reduce the number of smokers to 5% of the population. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

England will not be “smoke-free” until 2039, missing a key public health target by almost a decade, an analysis has found.

While smoking rates are in decline they are not falling fast enough to realise the government’s ambition of England being “smoke-free” by 2030, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).