Experts believe the overhaul of the NHS could harm the public health drive

This could also mean that public health is handed to councils, but the King's Fund health think tank said this could result in the NHS to ignore important issues such as smoking and drinking. The government has announced that it would be setting out detailed plans for public health in England later this year.

Local health managers are responsible for public health - they have been in charge of recruiting local public health directors and coordinating campaigns to help people adopt healthier lifestyles.

The King's Fund believes it could mean the GP consortiums that will be in charge of local NHS services will not be engaged in the issue in the same way the health service was in the past.

Dr Anna Dixon, director of policy at the health think tank, said "I think there are risks. I think there is a particular danger that the NHS no longer sees health at its responsibility but just health care,"

Public health consultants have already started lobbying the government about the issue. They have requested for a key role on the independent board which will monitor GP consortiums.

Professor Steve Field, of the Royal College of GPs, said he would side such a move. He said, "There is a risk here, especially as not every GP has a great knowledge of public health,"

However, public health minister Anne Milton said there was no need to be concerned. He added that detailed plans about how public health would work under the new system would be set out later this year in a White Paper. She said, "It is not a second thought or forgotten by any stretch of the imagination."

She also stated that to protect the budget during rough times, the government was going to ring-fence the public health budget.