Tobacco Dependence

The NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) has set out a commitment for the NHS to deliver NHS funded tobacco dependence treatment services across inpatient, maternity and outpatient/community settings. 

These services are intended to increase the numbers of people engaging in tobacco dependence treatment and to reduce the total number of smokers in the general population. 

Delivery of tobacco dependence treatment will: 

• have a positive impact on current treatment of patients 

•  reduce risks to developing foetuses and new-borns in pregnant women 

• close health inequality gaps – smoking is most prevalent in deprived communities 

• reduce demand on NHS services 

A patient-level data collection will provide systems the ability to prioritise patient cohorts, track outcomes and understand the impact on health inequalities. 

Because smoking prevalence varies across different ethnic, socioeconomic and other groups with protected characteristics, this collection will support services in identifying where additional focus is required. For example, prevalence rates are higher in people with a lower socioeconomic status, data identifying whether there is greater engagement and/or better outcomes with people from higher socioeconomic populations will indicate a potential widening of health inequalities and would help highlight where local action is urgently required. 

For more information visit Tobacco Dependence.

Direction  

Directions given by NHS England requiring NHS Digital to operate a system for the collection and dissemination of information relating to the prevention of smoking and the offer of supportive measures to individuals that wish to stop smoking. 

Find out more about the Direction  

Legal basis for the collection of the data  

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA 2012) section 254. 

Data Provision Notice  

Read the Data Provision Notice (DPN). 

Legal basis for the provision of data  

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA 2012) section 259. 

Legal basis for processing the data

The UK GDPR Article 6 lawful basis for the processing of the personal data within this collection falls under: 

• Article 6(1)(e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller 

The UK GDPR Article 9 condition for processing special categories of personal data within the collection falls under: 

• Article 9 2 (h) processing is necessary for the provision of health care or treatment, and for the management of health care systems or services 

Transparency notice  

View the Transparency Notice.

Lag time from collection to dissemination  

The collection window opens on the 2nd through to 17th working day of the month. This is then available from the 28th of each month. 

Frequency  

Monthly.

Commissioning extracts specification  

Find out more about the commissioning extracts specification. 

Suppression rules

To be confirmed.