Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: February 10, 2026

Purpose: To consider the report of the Director of Public Health detailing the 2024/25 annual report on Hope and Help: Reducing tobacco and alcohol harm in adults.

Content: For Cabinet and Council to support and promote the Director of Public Health's report recommendations, which are:   For us all   1.  See advice available on the City Council Website for Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs. If you smoke or drink more than 14 units per week, get support to stop or cut down. If you don’t smoke, don’t vape. Vaping is not risk-free. If you are pregnant or want to become pregnant, do not smoke or drink at all. Get support to help you. 2.   Support people around you to be smokefree and to have a healthy relationship with alcohol.   For Organisations and Leaders, including the Council, the NHS and others   3.  Strengthen the tobacco and alcohol support in your organisation for your staff, clients or patients, volunteers and visitors.   4.  Don’t leave any groups of people behind.      5. Learn from people with lived experience.

Reasons for the decision: Tobacco and alcohol are risk factors for many preventable illnesses and can cause wider social and economic harm. The DPH Annual Report recommendations and the cross-council SCC Tobacco, Alcohol & Drugs Strategy will benefit all Corporate priorities. The report aims to celebrate recovery, reduce stigma, refresh our understanding of what it means to quit smoking or seek help for an alcohol problem, and renew motivation and efforts across the system. The report specifically focuses on adult treatment and recovery this time to keep it short and readable, ensuring personal stories are not lost. It notes we have a full programme of wider work and emphasises that children and young people are also very important.   Additionally, for awareness, the related SCC Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Strategy 2023-2028 has a programme of action for each Council directorate. Subsequent annual updates to the Health & Wellbeing Board (HWB) have reflected the latest directorate structures. The last report went to a closed development session of the HWB in early 2025 and is appended (See Members Room Document 2). Recorded progress was unequal across directorates and strongest for commissioning specialist services, Children’s and public health-led programmes. The next annual report will be compiled from directorate reports in early 2026 and commitments will now be rated as red, amber or green

Alternative options considered: Not applicable