The report, by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, proposes a ‘polluter pays' levy, that would require Big Tobacco – who bring in an estimated £900m in annual profits – to contribute £700m annually to fund initiatives that reduce smoking rates and reduce the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest, as well as easing the financial burden on taxpayers. The amount required from Big Tobacco would taper as tobacco consumption falls.

In addition, the report calls for a £97m annual investment in targeted interventions to support disadvantaged communities – unlocking £3.6bn of savings to public finances over the next five years. While the wealthiest are set to reach less than 5% smoking rates this year, the most deprived areas will not achieve this until 2050 unless urgent action is taken.

The report also recommends:

• Ban cigarette filters – Stop the false perception of safety and tackle environmental harms
• Maximise the impact of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill
• Introduce urgent regulation on advertising, packaging, and flavour descriptors to protect children
• Ensure all tobacco products are regulated in the same way as cigarettes
• Ensure nicotine pouches are appropriately regulated to limit their appeal to children and protect customers
• Develop a licencing scheme for tobacco and vaping products with a clear public health agenda
• Require tobacco industry to publish sales data to support local, regional and national tobacco control strategies
• Introduce new mandatory warnings – Implement cigarette pack inserts and on-stick health warnings to deter smoking
• Keep driving down the affordability of tobacco –The report calls for maintaining the tax escalator, reviewing the Minimum Excise Tax, and closing the tax gap between factory-made and hand-rolled tobacco. Additionally, sustained investment is needed to combat the illicit tobacco market – building on two decades of successful enforcement strategies – to both disrupt illegal supply chains and reduce consumer demand.

Mary Foy, co-chair of the APPG, said: ‘The UK is set to introduce world-leading new laws that will protect future generations from the enormous harms of smoking, but we cannot ignore the millions of people still trapped by addiction. The only people who benefit from smoking is the tobacco industry who generate huge profits from peddling misery and illness. It's time for them to pay for the damage they cause.'

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King's Fund, who contributed the foreword to the report, added: ‘Tackling smoking can be a blueprint for broader prevention efforts – combining national legislation with local support to drive real change.

‘With the right approach, this Government now has the chance to achieve what once seemed impossible: a society free from the harms of tobacco. And the chance to create a nation of people who can live longer and healthier lives, by preventing, diagnosing and treating illnesses earlier.'