"I've saved over £80k": Ex-head of Leicester Stop Smoking Service reflects on 20 years of quitting
Research shows there were over 400,000 hospital admissions in England due to smoking in 2022-23
Last updated 13th Mar 2024
The former head of Leicester and Rutland's Stop Smoking Service says quitting felt like "having a giant pay rise", as new research reveals the burden smoking is putting on the NHS.
Lou Ross, who's now business development manager for the Smoke Free App, is urging people across the county to seek support to help them quit smoking.
It's after joint research from leading health charities and the Government, who've teamed up to urge more people to quit, found there were 400,000 hospital admissions in England due to smoking between 2022 and 2023.
Figures show there's over 5 million smokers across the nation, and that cigarettes are responsible for 64,000 deaths per year in England alone.
A new stop-smoking initiative's being launched today, on the 40th anniversary of No Smoking Day, in line with government plans to bring about the first smoke free generation and introduce legislation so children turning fifteen this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco.
Smoking rates have reduced by two-thirds since the first year of No Smoking Day, but smoking is still the single largest preventable cause of death in England.
"I must've saved £80k by not smoking"
Ms Ross, who quit smoking 20 years ago, said: 'I must've saved over £80k by not smoking, that's not just today's prices. That's calculated on how much a packet was when I stopped, which was about £6.'
'...It's well over double that now, so anybody stopping now will save an absolute shed load of money.'
'I'm nearly 72. I can run, cycle, swim; do all sorts of active things that keep me well. If I was still smoking, I would be sitting in my chair, gasping for breath.'
'I started to think of it smoking as a companion that was actually an abuser as well, who was making me ill and taking my money off me.'
'So the barrier was getting over that change in the way I thought about it.'
A big price to pay
Department of Health & Social Care figures show the average smoker spends around £47 a week on tobacco, which is around £2,450 a year.
But the cost to society surpasses £17 billion per year, which includes a £14 billion cost to productivity and £3 billion cost to the NHS and social care.
Public Health Minister Andrea Leadsom said:
“Smoking is the biggest preventable killer in the UK and places a huge burden on our NHS. Cigarettes are responsible for 64,000 deaths a year in England - no other consumer product kills up to two-thirds of its users.
“That’s why No Smoking Day is still so important 40 years on from its launch. We are taking action to prevent our children from ever lighting a cigarette, and our proposed historic Tobacco and Vapes Bill will safeguard the next generation from the harms of smoking and risk of addiction.”
Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said:
“Cigarettes kill. They cause at least 15 different types of cancers and increase your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions.
“Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health - no matter your age or how long you have smoked.”