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Chronicle Live

Health

Sam Volpe

How smoking costs the North East economy, NHS and social care almost £1bn

NHS Smoking Economy the North East Tobacco Samantha Allen

Stop smoking campaigners have highlighted figures which suggest that smoking causes a billion pound hit to the North East economy each year.

Analysis produced by the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) group has found the habit has a cost of around £992.5m in our region. That's made up from assessments of the impact on the NHS, on productivity, on social care and on the costs of fire and relates to the area between the Scottish borders and Teesside.

In response, campaigners and NHS bosses are calling for more to be done to reduce smoking levels, with Samantha Allen, chief executive of the NHS's North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, among those to call for tobacco companies to pay a levy to back smoking reduction work.

The research highlights how ONS figures point to around 330,000 smokers across the region. Using data from hospital admissions, the prevalence of smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and social care costs, the campaign group estimate across County Durham alone - which has the most smokers at 68.000 - there is a £22.2m cost to the NHS and a £14m cost in social care spending.

Overall - in Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland and County Durham - there is a £78.6m cost to the NHS, £49m in social care and £10.2m in costs due to smoking related fires. But the biggest contributor to the bill which faces North East society comes from hits to productivity.

Fresh graphic shows the impact of smoking on the North East economy (Fresh /ASH)

Across the LA7 areas, smoking accounts for a £605.3m cost in productivity - that's made up of the impact of smoking-related lost earnings, smoking related-unemployment and smoking-related early deaths. When Teesside is also included, the productivity hit rises to an astonishing £811.6m each year.

Ailsa Rutter OBE, director of smoking campaign group Fresh said: "Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death, taking 10 years off the average life of someone who smokes. It has killed over 117,000 people in the North East since the year 2000 and despite seeing some of the biggest falls in smoking, around 313,000 adults still smoke in our region.

"These figures are a stark reminder that tobacco is a significant drain on the North East – on our local businesses, our economy, our NHS and our local authorities. Tobacco companies are some of the most profitable multinationals and are making enormous profits from peddling this killer addiction while the NHS and local authorities are expected to pay for their damage. It is time that the tobacco industry is made to pay for prevention."

Samantha Allen of the North East and North Cumbria ICS said: "It is about time the industries which profit from their products start taking greater responsibility for the impact they have. A levy on tobacco companies directed at prevention & meeting cost of disease burden on the NHS and social care would make a difference."

John McCabe, North East England Chamber of Commerce chief executive, offered a perspective on the regional econmoy. He said: “Given the workforce challenges already faced by organisations across our region, the impact of poor health on the economy from smoking will be a cause for concern for many businesses.

“As a Chamber we consistently hear from our members how much they rely on a healthy and productive workforce, but after the successive pressures of the pandemic and cost of living crisis we can no longer take this for granted. As a business community, we are committed to our role in ensuring our colleagues are happy, safe, and healthy at work.”

Last month, health minister Neil O'Brien said Government smoking policy will focus on “helping people to quit” rather than imposing bans, despite pressure from campaigners and MPs. The Government said it is committed to its target of a smoke-free 2030 and has backed this with "significant funding".

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