Smoking costs East of England economy £1.8bn every year
It's due to the cost of treating smoking related health conditions - as well the damage caused by accidental fires
New analysis has found the cost of people in the East of England smoking is around £1.8bn every year, £500m higher than previously thought.
Research commissioned by charity Action of Smoking and Health (ASH) found the cost to be around £17bn for the whole of England.
It looked at the amount of cash spent by the NHS and other health and care services in helping people with smoking related conditions. It also looked at the amount of income spent in cigarettes and tobacco by people in the East.
In total, smoking is costing the NHS here an additional £284m annually, with £128m being spent on additional care for people with conditions caused by smoking.
Smokers in the East spend about £1.3bn on tobacco annually, while the cost of damage to property and lives from accidental fires caused by cigarettes is said to be around £27m.
There's also the cost of cleaning up cigarette waste, with around 136 tonnes worth of cigarette butts dropped every year in East Anglia alone.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health says:
“Smoking is a drain on society. It’s a cost to individuals in terms of their health and wealth and a cost to us all because it undermines the productivity of our economy and places additional burdens on our NHS and care services.
“Nationally Government must publish their promised plan for tackling smoking but local councils must also seize the initiative and create plans for their communities that account for the tremendous burden caused by smoking.”
The government has previously outlined an ambition to make England smoke free by 2030.