Smoking

There is a significant association between smoking and multiple mental health conditions, including:

• dementia
• depression
• psychosis
• eating disorders

This relationship is reciprocal, meaning those with worse mental health are more likely to smoke, and those who smoke are likely to develop worse mental health. Research also suggests that those who smoke are more likely to be lonely and have less frequent engagement with their communities.

There was a 30% increase in the number of children living in a smoke free home in England from 1998 to 2018. Nevertheless, of the estimated 1.8 million households in England where a child lives with a smoking adult, the second highest proportion of these are in the north east of England at 8.7% of households. 

Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to experience a range of poor health outcomes. Their risk of developing asthma is increased by up to 85%.  

Children who live with a parent who smokes have increased odds of going on to smoke themselves. Increasing the number of smoke free homes will therefore have both immediate and long-terms benefits for the health of our younger generations.

Smoking-related impacts on society 

Smoking comes at a cost to society of over £17 billion per year in England, when considering healthcare spending, social care spending, and productivity costs. In the north east region, this cost is around £1.99 billion. 

A significant burden is placed on our health system because of smoking. Smoking-related illness costs the NHS around £2.6 billion each year, representing 2% of their whole budget.

In the north east specifically, the NHS costs of smoking are estimated to be around £93.4 million per year. In 2019 to 2020, the rates of hospital admissions regarded as being caused by smoking for the population of Stockton-on-Tees reached 2,015 per 100,000. This is 44% higher than the figure for England in the same time period. This highlights the disproportionate impact of smoking-related illness on NHS services in our area.

The cost of social care to north east local authorities due to smoking is approximately £65 million. This figure does not include the cost of informal care provided by family and friends, or the additional costs that would be incurred if the remaining unmet need was addressed. This would equate to an additional £732 million. In Stockton-on-Tees specifically, social care costs from smoking amount to £4.8 million pounds annually. 

Beyond health and social care, there is a high cost to the wider economy from smoking, owing to a loss of productivity. This refers to the costs of unemployment, lost earnings, and early deaths due to smoking, which are estimated to total around £14 billion per year in England, with nearly £1 billion of this attributable to the north east specifically. On average, smokers take more time off work than non-smokers do.

Environmental impact

Cigarette smoking is harmful to our environment because it contributes to climate change through the generation of carbon dioxide. To offset one person smoking 20 cigarettes per day for 50 years, it would require planting 132 tree seedlings and growing each of them for 10 years.  

Cigarettes are also the primary cause of accidental fires in the home. In the north east, this comes at a cost of more than £15 million per year, as well as posing a significant risk to life.