More than 200 leading doctors, professional bodies and charities are urging the U.K. Chancellor to use the budget on Oct. 30 as an opportunity to invest in creating a smoke-free U..K as quickly as possible, and make the tobacco industry pay.
In an open letter published by The BMJ on Oct. 16, they warn that unless smoking is addressed, there is no prospect of delivering on Labour’s manifesto commitment to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
According to the authors, the rationale for investing to end the tobacco “epidemic” could not be stronger. The annual cost of smoking to individuals, public services and the wider UK economy is £93 billion ($121.43 billion), while the direct cost of smoking to the U.K. public finances in 2023 was £21.9 billion, with a net cost of £13.5 billion.
The letter writers acknowledge that there are acute constraints on spending, but point out that smoking cessation treatment saves £2.37 for every £1 invested, while improving health improves economic productivity.
What’s more, introducing a “polluter pays” levy on tobacco manufacturers “could raise £700 million a year for vital tobacco control activity in a way that would prevent companies from simply passing the cost on to consumers, according to the authors.”
“It is a scandal that smoking continues to have such a devastating impact on the nation’s health, being linked to 15,000 heart disease deaths in the U.K. each year. Besides the grief and pain each death causes countless families, ill health caused by smoking also puts a strain on the NHS and our economy,” said Charmaine Griffiths, CEO of the British Heart Foundation, in a statement.
“The status quo is unacceptable, and we need a bold and far-reaching package of measures to consign smoking to history.”