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Exclusive: The Local Government Association (LGA) has said it expects commissioning of pharmacy smoking cessation services by councils in England to improve over the next year following Labour’s commitment to ringfence funding as part of a £4.4 billion public health grant for local authorities.

The LGA told Independent Community Pharmacist the grant for 2026-27, of which at least £150 million will be distributed annually to local councils for stop smoking services, will help “commissioning to evolve as the new arrangements are embedded”.

Labour also promised an additional £260 million to “specifically” target local smoking cessation services over a three-year period until 2028-29.

An LGA spokesperson told ICP: “The multi-year settlement provides councils with the planning certainty they need. The smoking cessation ringfence inside the public health grant ensures the resource can continue.”

Less than half of authorities commissioned smoking cessation from pharmacy

A freedom of information request by the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) in October last year found less than half of the 317 local authorities in England commissioned a smoking cessation service from community pharmacy. That, the CCA said, meant only 15,000 people received support from pharmacies in 2025.

When asked why local commissioning of pharmacy smoking cessation services was so patchy across the country, the LGA said: “Smoking prevalence, demographics and existing service infrastructure differ by area. Councils commission the mix of stop smoking support that are tailored for their local population.

“Behavioural support combined with pharmacotherapy is recognised as the most effective smoking cessation treatment. This is delivered through specialist services, primary care, community settings, or pharmacies, depending on which service is most effective at reaching smokers in a local area, rather than universal availability.”

A report by the CCA in February this year said some local authorities were restricting access to smoking cessation services by patient characteristics such as age or restrictions for pregnant women.

The LGA said: “Councils commission a range of stop smoking services with delivery models tailored to best serve the local population within the public health grant.

“Many councils direct resources into specialist outreach in the most deprived communities where smoking is often most concentrated and where harder-to-reach smokers are. Pharmacy sits alongside this resource in many areas.

“The 2026-27 settlement, with multi-year certainty and a ringfenced minimum spend on stop smoking services, gives councils the planning horizon to develop sustainable pathways.”

LGA: Pharmacy must engage with directors of public health and use local data

The LGA urged pharmacy contractors and local pharmaceutical committees “to engage directly with their local directors of public health” and use “local data” to set out “what they can deliver on reach, equity of access and outcomes”.

The CCA, who in February called on Labour to commission a national pharmacy smoking cessation service, also said some authorities do not give patients access to prescription-only medicines such as varenicline or bupropion using patient group directions.

In response, the LGA said: “Councils have been working with the evidence and the supply position on prescription-only medicines. Where these medicines are clinically appropriate, councils commission access through the route that fits local pathways.

“Patient group directions reflect local clinical governance and the evidence base for specific populations. Pregnant smokers, for example, typically benefit from specialist support pathways rather than community pharmacy walk-in provision.

“Variation in PGDs is a clinical commissioning decision rather than relating to access and availability of services.”

Nonetheless, there have been concerns within community pharmacy that a lack of pharmacy stop smoking services in some areas is increasing the risk of ill-health, especially in the most deprived communities.

The LGA said local authorities “typically concentrate their stop smoking budgets in the most deprived neighbourhoods, through specialist behavioural support and community outreach”.

“This ensures they reach the highest prevalence groups and those smokers who are least likely to come forward,” it said.