New figures show estimated cost of smoking in the North East is £1.99bn a year
Action on Smoking and Health has published new estimates for the cost of smoking in the North East.
The figure is £1.99billion a year and this includes £1.23billion in productivity costs including lost earnings due to ill health, unemployment, early deaths and expenditure on tobacco.
Other estimates mentioned are as follows – £661 million in social care costs to local authorities, care by families and unmet social care needs, £82.3million cost to the NHS, including primary and secondary care, and £15million in the costs of smoking-related fires.
The amount brought in from tax on smoking is estimated to be around £306million a year.
The Fresh regional programme for tobacco control is calling on the Government to impose a levy on the profits of the tobacco industry to cover the costs of prevention and help achieve a smokefree future free of the death and disease of tobacco.
Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, said: “Smoking is still our key driver of health inequalities and biggest cause of cancer. Over 125,000 people in the North East have died from avoidable smoking illnesses since 2000.
“These figures show that it is now vital for the Government to continue to prioritise efforts to help people to stop smoking and also stop new generations getting hooked on lethal tobacco products.
“Smoking is now known to kill two out of three smokers early. This region has a clear vision for a ‘Smokefree Future’ and a further levy on tobacco profits would help us achieve this to invest in prevention and further support for smokers to quit.”