Smoking costs NHS five times more predicted
New research from Oxford University has shown that smoking is costing the NHS five times more than previously anticipated, reports the BBC.
The cost of treating illnesses and diseases caused by smoking is around £5 billion a year, whereas previous estimates put the figure at around £1.4 billion.
One if five deaths are the result of smoking, at the figure accounts for more than 5% of the NHS’s annual budget.
Dr Steven Allender who led the research said: “The story is not so much the five-fold increase but that £5bn is an enormous number regardless.
“There’s two different ways of looking at this – one is if nobody smoked we would save £5bn but the alternative view is this is an enormous health problem and should be moved back up the policy agenda.”
