Smoking support in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire setting councils back £40m every year
That's what the councils are spending on supporting people with smoking-related illness.
Smoking across the East costs local government £128 million in social care costs every year.
In Norfolk alone it cost the local council over £22.5 million in 2021 to support adults aged 50 and over with smoking-related illnesses.
In Cambridgeshire it was £18.4m.
Action on Smoking and Heath estimates around 17,000 people in Cambridgeshire, and 20,700 in Norfolk, are receiving unpaid care from friends and family for smoking support.
With a further 15,499 individuals estimated to need but are not receiving care due to smoking-attributable illnesses.
Action on Smoking and Health says that the country needs sustained investment to help people stop smoking so that the government's ambition of a smoke-free country by 2030 can be possible.
New analyses of authoritative national datasets funded by the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows that ill health caused by smoking has a substantial impact on the social care needs and costs across the East of England.
Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in England, killing 74,600 people in 2019 alone.
Smoking is also a leading cause of preventable illness – for every person killed by smoking, at least another 30 are estimated to be living with serious smoking-related disease and disability.
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said:
“Smoking has a devastating impact on our communities far beyond the tens of thousands of lives it takes every year. It profoundly undermines the quality of many people’s lives, often placing heavy demands on family and friends.
“Securing the Government’s vision of a smoke-free country by 2030 will make all the difference. It will ease pressure on the social care system and build resilience in our communities, enabling people to live longer, healthier lives.
“Local authorities have a key role to play in ending smoking, but they cannot do it without additional funding. ASH backs calls on the government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers to pay for the support needed to end smoking in this country.”