WE ALL WANT TO BREATHE A LITTLE EASIER THESE DAYS.
Quitting smoking isn’t just a good idea for smokers, it’s a great idea for all of us.
ASH (Action Against Smoking) estimated that smoking costs England approximately £12.6bn every year.1 Let that sink in.
We all know – especially smokers – that the health benefits of quitting smoking are immense, but so too would be the reduction in costs to society as a whole if we as a nation quit tobacco for good. Here are a few quick facts about how much smoking costs the country.
Smoking costs the NHS across England approximately £2.5bn every year.
Social care: Many current/former smokers require extra care in later life as a result of smoking-related illness. The estimated cost each year is £1.4bn.
House fires: The annual cost of smoking-related house fires is around £329.7m.
The remaining £8.4 billion is made up of social care costs, productivity losses and sickness pay (smokers take more sick leave than non-smokers). 1
The Health risks of smoking
Smoking costs lives: in 2016 smoking was directly responsible for around 95,800 of deaths in the UK and as we’ve all witnessed during the COVID-19 crisis, smokers are more susceptible to suffering severe complications from viral infections that target the respiratory system. 1
Around half of all life-long smokers will die prematurely and on average, cigarette smokers die 10 years younger than non-smokers. Smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack compared with people who have never smoked. 1
Tobacco (smoking and environmental tobacco smoke – passive smoking) causes 3 in 20 (15%) cancer cases in the UK. Tobacco smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer: 72% of lung cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking. 1
Even seemingly ‘low’ levels of smoking can be harmful. One long-term study concluded that people who smoke between 1 and 4 cigarettes a day have a significantly higher risk of dying early than non-smokers.
Just quit already …
The impact on health the cost to the nation makes for grim reading. So, why aren’t more people quitting smoking? If it was easy, everyone would do it, but it’s incredibly hard. This week the British Lung Foundation is campaigning for improved lung health and awareness of the risk factors affecting lung health in the UK. Obviously, smoking is a leading cause of preventable lung disease and associated costs and health system impact.
We recently created the SWITCH TO QUIT (S2Q) programme designed to help smokers switch to vaping as tool to help them quit smoking. The NHS fully endorse the use of e-cigarettes as part of their smoking cessation programme, but S2Q fills a gap by helping with product selection, techniques and advice on how to vape.
The bottom line? We need to keep moving towards a tobacco free world where we can all breathe a lot easier.
SWITCH TO QUIT. IT WORKS. WE CAN HELP YOU.
References:
- Action on Smoking (ASH) Smoking Facts at a Glance.
