To illustrate the costs of smoking – and the savings to be made by tackling tobacco use, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council ran an analysis on tobacco investment using a return on investment model. This case study forms part of our demand management, Public health, resource.
This tool was developed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to help local decision-making on tobacco control. The model estimated the total annual cost of smoking at £10.7 million, broken down as follows: business – £3.7 million, NHS – £6.8 million and second-hand smoke – £110,000.
This was based on Bury's adult population of around 141,000, comprising roughly 23 per cent smokers and 33 per cent ex-smokers. Investing £751,692 in smoking cessation interventions for one year would achieve estimated gross savings of £321,579 overall in the first two years - excluding the cost of implementation.
