Purpose

The purpose of this report is to seek approval
for a procurement process to ensure continuity of the provision of
e-vouchers for e-cigarettes and associated products to help people
in North Yorkshire to quit smoking through the Living Well
Smokefree service. The selected company will provide access to
e-cigarettes and associated products via a voucher scheme for
smokers who choose to adopt this method of quitting.

Decision

Approval has been given to commence
procurement for the provision of e-vouchers for e-cigarettes and
associated products to help people in North Yorkshire to quit
smoking through the Living Well Smokefree service.

Following the procurement process, the selected company will
provide access to e-cigarettes and associated products via a
voucher scheme to individuals who choose to adopt this method of
quitting. Access to the voucher will only be through the Living
Well Smokefree Service. This will contribute to work towards the
Smokefree Generation targets for North Yorkshire, thereby
addressing health inequalities and improving population
health.

In accordance with Officers' Delegation Scheme, the decision has
been delegated to Dr Victoria Turner, Public Health Consultant on
behalf of Director of Public Health, in consultation with Executive
Member for Health and Adult Services.

Reasons for the decision

North Yorkshire has received the second year
of five years of additional investment from a national fund of
£70million for local stop smoking services across England to
support people to stop smoking, in an effort to achieve a 5%
national prevalence by 2030. Smoking remains the biggest
preventable killer in the UK, contributing to a wide range of
health conditions and costing North Yorkshire an estimated
£400m per year on health, social care and other costs (ASH
Ready Reckoner, 2025). Therefore, ensuring that support is in place
to help as many people quit is important to ensuring people live as
long and healthy life as possible.
In recent years, e-cigarettes have become a popular and effective
stop smoking aid in the United Kingdom. They are less harmful than
cigarettes and they can help adults quit smoking for
good.

Alternative options considered

The option to discontinue the e-cigarette
offer for people accessing support to stop smoking via Living Well
Smokefree has been discounted due to the evidence base for
e-cigarettes as an effective quit aid. Each individual accessing
the service is offered a range of effective available stop smoking
aids including e-cigarettes, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and
stop smoking medications which will become available during 2026.
This is complemented by behavioural support from a trained stop
smoking advisor who can help each individual to make an informed
choice about the best quit aid for them, considering a range of
factors and the available options.