The NHS has teamed up with MPs and academics to form a tobacco alliance with the goal of making London smokefree by 2030, reports the Evening Standard.

The London Tobacco Alliance has been formed to highlight the damages of smoking and to promote smokefree environments. According to the Alliance, close to one million people smoke in the capital with 5,939 Londoners dying from smoking related illnesses each year.
The members of the Alliance have come together to advertise the benefits of quitting and to ensure that “no children born today” will take up the habit, reports the Evening Standard.
“My parents died when I was 23. They both died of cancer. Both died because of smoking. We had two years prior to their death of terrible experience, in terms of health and me seeing my parents die literally in front of me. I don’t want any family to go through that and so therefore for me, it’s not just a health-related issue or a community issue. For me it’s personal,” said Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow and Chair of the APPG on Tobacco.
Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director for London Office for Health Improvement and Disparities confirmed that regional Tobacco Alliances really do work saying that there were some examples in other parts of the country where they have been highly effective. “Through the alliance we’ll be able to understand what’s being delivered in the city at this time, where the gaps are and how working together we can help to fill those gaps and ensure we are more than the sum of our parts,” he said.