By quitting smoking, 75,000 GP visits could be made redundant every month – charity

The charity estimates that stopping smoking in England would free up around 75,000 GP visits each month.

Cancer Research UK said the government must do more to prevent young people taking up smoking and help current smokers quit.

It said smoking remains the most common cause of cancer death and consumes a “significant” proportion of NHS resources. It was also calculated that in England one person is admitted to hospital every minute due to smoking.

The charity has called on the Government to launch a consultation on raising the age at which cigarettes can be sold, and pledged to provide more resources to help people stop smoking.

The charity said that if the government didn’t have the money, the tobacco industry should fund it.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: “In his upcoming budget, the Chancellor has the opportunity to reduce the number of people suffering from and dying from smoking-related cancers, grow the economy and make the most of NHS resources in England.

“Jeremy Hunt must take this opportunity to take a bold approach to tobacco control and establish a Tobacco Free Fund to match these measures – and if necessary, make the tobacco industry, not taxpayers, pay for the harm it causes the health of our nation and our citizens. health Service.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Smoking rates in England are at an all-time low – currently at 13%, down from around 20% in 2010 – so we are committed to continuing to reduce the harm caused by tobacco.

“Last year we provided £35 million to support the NHS Long Term Plan, which committed to offering NHS-funded tobacco treatment services to all smokers admitted to hospital. We have also provided £68 million in public health grants to local authorities to help stop smoking – around 100,000 people stopped smoking in 2021-22 thanks to the support of the stop smoking program.

“We continue to believe strongly in our bold ambition to be smoke-free by 2030 and we will set out the next steps shortly.”

Simon Clark, director of smokers’ group Forest, said: “It is not the Government’s job to stop smoking, smoking rates have fallen significantly over the last decade, not because of taxpayer-funded anti-smoking campaigns or stop smoking services, but because millions of smokers have switched to products reduced risk, such as e-cigarettes.

“Government interventions such as plain packaging have generally had very little impact.

“The danger is that by prioritizing tobacco control, the Chancellor will discriminate against poorer smokers and drive many more consumers to the black market.”

– The organization’s analysis is based on data on visits to GPs and a 2018 study which found that people who don’t smoke visit their GP 12% less often than people who do.