£250k-a-year service to help Leeds vulnerable smokers quit
Council spending up to £250k a year to Leeds vulnerable smokers quit
A new stop-smoking service is set to help vulnerable people most at risk from tobacco-related health problems.
Leeds City Council is planning to spend up to £250,000 a year helping homeless smokers and those with mental health problems.
A council report said a healthcare provider would be sought to run the service, paid for with government public health funding.
It warned that smokers faced a reduced life expectancy of up to 20 years compared to non-smokers.
Support already in place in Leeds saw a 47 per cent increase in people quitting in the first nine months of 2025/26 compared to the previous year.
But smoking rates among people suffering high stress levels and housing problems were massively higher than the general population.
The report said: “Some groups of people who smoke face significantly higher risk of physical illness and a reduced life expectancy of between 10 and 20 years compared with the general population.”
In 2025, more than 35 per cent of people registered with a Leeds GP and diagnosed with severe mental illness were smokers.
National figures showed up to 82 per cent of homeless people and 43.7 per cent of those starting drug or alcohol treatment smoked.
Overall adult smoking prevalence in Leeds was 11.8 per cent between 2020 and 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The report said: “There is therefore a need to provide a more specialist and tailored offer to support people experiencing these circumstances.”
A contract to provide the service would begin on October 1 and run for two-and-half years, with the option of it being extended for a further 24 months.
The report said every £1 spent on stop-smoking services saved £10 in future healthcare costs.
It said: “Interventions which support people to stop smoking offer an immediate return on investment, as well as offering medium and long-term returns.”