Smoking costs Gravesend and Dartford £ 47 million a year



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According to a new analysis, smoking costs £ 47 million a year in Gravesham and Dartford, thanks to NHS costs, sick leave and even smoking breaks.

Action on Smoking and Health, a leading anti-smoking charity, has calculated how much tobacco costs society. He compared various publicly available data, such as smoking prevalence, mortality, and hospital admissions.

The latest figures show that 12% of people smoked in Gravesham and 14% in Dartford in 2016, less than the 16% British average.

Activists say smoking costs £ 47 million a year in Gravesend and Dartford
Activists say smoking costs £ 47 million a year in Gravesend and Dartford

Ash's study estimates that smoking costs both economies 34 million pounds a year because of the loss of work days.

The charity has calculated how much income has been lost by people who die before the retirement age, where smoking is a factor.

The analysis also takes into account the time lost due to smoking breaks and smoking-related sick leave.

According to the National Institute for Health and Wellness Excellence (NICE), smokers suffer an average of 2.74 additional days of illness compared to non-smokers.

Research has also shown that smoking costs 9 million pounds a year at the NHS in the boroughs, based on smoking-related hospital admissions and patient costs.

Ash Deborah Arnott, CEO of Ash, said, "Our tool shows how important the financial impact of smoking is at the local level and encourages local authorities to invest in measures to discourage young people from smoking. . .

"However, cuts in public health budgets mean that many local authorities no longer have the resources to invest in reducing smoking rates." false economy that hurts our local communities. "

Ash also estimated that the impact on social services was 3.8 million pounds a year for public and private providers.

About half of the money spent on cigarettes goes to the government from the tobacco tax.

However, charities like Ash and the British Heart Foundation are calling on the government to force tobacco companies to pay an additional tax that goes directly to tobacco control services.

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