Stop Smoking services in North East Lincolnshire are urging people to take advantage of the support available to help them to quit for good.
As new figures from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) show that smoking is still costing the North East Lincolnshire region £198-million a year, the Wellbeing Service and Swap 2 Stop campaigns say now is the time for people to seek the help they need to put smoking behind them.
ASH says smoking has the biggest impact on local productivity – costing £133-million – as smoking undermines the health of people during working age, with some dying before they reach retirement.
Smoking also costs the local economy jobs, as most of the money spent on smoking leaves the local economy, meaning that if smokers switch their spending to other goods and services more jobs are created.
Other costs involved in smoking include:
- Healthcare costs: £8.06 million
- Social care costs (including the cost of unmet care needs and informal carers): £55.4 million
- Smoking related fires: £1.66 million
These costs far outweigh what local smokers are contributing in tax revenue, estimated to be £34-million from North East Lincolnshire per year.
Costs to other areas and local constituencies can also be explored using the ASH tool: https://ashresources.shinyapps.io/ready_reckoner/
The new figures come as MPs debate a new law that will phase out the sale of tobacco to protect future generations from the direct harmful effects of smoking.
In North East Lincolnshire, The Wellbeing Service says providing support for smokers to quit is highly cost effective, and the evidence is clear that smokers who receive a combination of pharmacotherapy and skilled behavioural support are up to four times as likely to quit successfully.
In local services, smoking support is offered in a variety of ways to fit the person, including nicotine replacement therapy and vapes with tailored behavioural support over a 12 week period. Support from The Wellbeing Service enables a quit rate of 54% highlighting that effective support significantly increases success in quitting smoking.
Pregnant women who smoke are also receiving targeted support through the NHS Swap and Stop tobacco dependency treatment services https://www.swapandstop.co.uk/info-for-parents-to-be/
Cllr Stan Shreeve, NELC Portfolio holder for Heath, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, said: “It’s staggering to see the cost of tobacco to our area. Considering both the financial impact on local economies and the personal impact on all the people who are housebound and unable to work due to smoking related illness, the time is now to protect our future generations from being trapped into addiction by this uniquely lethal product.
”I urge smokers in our region to use the support services on offer to help them to quit smoking. We have so many examples of people turning their lives around completely after quitting smoking with support from the Wellbeing Team, and you only have to look at the figures released today to see what a positive impact that could have for everyone.”
Diane Lee, NELC Director of Public Health, said:
“The need for action is clear, tobacco cannot be allowed to continue taking lives, money, and services from our communities. The pressure that it puts on our systems is immense, and most importantly the people who suffer ill health because of tobacco are not to blame – they have been enticed into using a highly-addictive product, generally at a young age, and the majority want to stop.
“Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death, causing cancer, cardio-vascular disease, and respiratory conditions such as COPD and emphysema, among others.
The proposed legislation means that there could be an end in sight for the death and destruction caused by tobacco.”
Deputy Chief Executive of ASH, Hazel Cheeseman said:
“Local communities pay the price for the profits made by the tobacco industry. The impact is much greater than anything smokers are paying in taxes. Smoking costs lives but it also damages our economy and weakens our public services. Passing legislation to protect the next generation from the harms smoking causes cannot come quickly enough.”
If you would like help to stop smoking or are an employer who would like support for your team, please get in touch with The Wellbeing Service Wellbeing Service (nelincs.gov.uk) or phone 01472 325500.
It’s never too late to stop smoking, and with professional help and stop smoking medication, people are three times more likely to quit for good.
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