Smokefree Action Coalition

Tobacco remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness and death in the UK. The RCP works with partners across the health sector to reduce smoking rates, tackle health inequalities and ensure everyone who wants to quit can access effective support.

The RCP is a member of the Smokefree Action Coalition (SFAC) – a network of more than 300 organisations coordinated by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). Together, coalition members campaign for a UK where no one is harmed by tobacco, children grow up free from nicotine addiction, and effective stop-smoking support is available in every community. RCP Cymru Wales works with ASH Wales.

The RCP has been at the forefront of tobacco control for more than 60 years. In 1971, the college helped to establish ASH, building on the landmark Smoking and health report published in 1962, which set out the link between smoking and lung cancer and transformed public understanding of the harms of tobacco.

Our tobacco campaigning

Today, our work focuses on reducing smoking-related harm and addressing the inequalities associated with tobacco use.

We are campaigning for:

universal access to effective stop-smoking support
opt-out tobacco dependency treatment across all NHS settings
action to reduce smoking-related health inequalities
strong regulation of tobacco products and industry practices
continued progress towards a smokefree UK.

Following the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, we are working to ensure that the legislation is matched by practical support for the millions of people who still smoke. Evidence from NHS tobacco dependency services shows that removing barriers to access can be particularly effective in supporting people from disadvantaged communities to quit.

Physician-led and evidence-based

The RCP's work on tobacco is led by our special adviser on tobacco and informed by physicians, researchers and public health experts from across the UK. Through our policy work, research and partnerships, we continue to champion evidence-based approaches to reducing smoking-related harm and improving population health.

News

31/05/26

‘Every missed opportunity to treat tobacco dependence is a missed chance to save a life’: RCP calls for opt-out NHS smoking services on World No Tobacco Day

On World No Tobacco Day, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has renewed its call for opt-out tobacco dependency treatment to be introduced across every NHS setting, warning that without urgent action, smoking will continue to cost thousands of lives and billions of pounds to the UK economy every year.

Policy

06/05/26

Smoking, health and social justice

A new report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) examines the effects of smoking that are increasingly concentrated among people already living in poverty, poor health and with social exclusion. It calls on the UK government to adopt opt-out treatment models across all NHS services.

Policy

18/04/24

E-cigarettes and harm reduction: An evidence review

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published a new report that looks at the part e-cigarettes can play in preventing death, disability and inequalities from tobacco use.

Report

22/06/21

Smoking and health 2021: A coming of age for tobacco control?

Almost 60 years after the RCP’s first report on tobacco, Smoking and health, published in 1962, this new report from the RCP’s Tobacco Advisory Group reviews the UK’s progress in reducing smoking prevalence, and sets out comprehensive recommendations for England’s forthcoming National Tobacco Control Plan.

Working party report

28/10/19

Nicotine without smoke: Tobacco harm reduction

This report provides an update on the use of harm reduction in tobacco smoking, in relation to all non-tobacco nicotine products but particularly e-cigarettes. It shows that, for all the potential risks involved, harm reduction has huge potential to prevent death and disability from tobacco use, and to hasten our progress to a tobacco-free society.