Smoking related illnesses cost Warrington over £2m

SMOKING related illnesses are costing Warrington more than £2 million a year according to new figures released by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
The report has estimated that current smokers over the age of 50 are twice as likely to need help with day-to-day living and on average need care nine years earlier than non-smokers.
Over 130 smokers in Warrington currently need additional care from social services and more than 1,500 depend on care from family and friends.
Numbers also indicate that local authorities spend more of a proportion of their care budgets on smoke-related care than the NHS does.
Regional figures show more than £91 million is spent on social care across the North West and ASH has said the multi-million pound figures could even be higher because there are no figures available for what councils spend on those aged under 50.
Cllr Pat Wright, (pictured right) executive board member for health, wellbeing and adult services said: “Smoking can have a devastating impact on families across the borough which means that providing the right amount of care is critically important. As a council we remain committed to the wellbeing of our residents and by helping people to quit smoking, it will not only improve their health but it will mean that they will need less paid-for care in the future.”
Andrea Crossfield, Chief Executive of Tobacco Free Futures said:“Continued investment in supporting adults to quit and preventing young people from starting to smoke is important to alleviate local authority budget pressures and bring money back into communities.
“Measures to reduce the number of children and adults smoking in communities, such as standardised tobacco packaging can also have a significant part to play in reducing local authority costs both now and in the future.”
For further information on your local LiveWire stop smoking service visit www.livewirewarrington.co.uk/stopsmoking or free phone 0300 003 0818.