New research from Brunel University, London reveals how smokers switching to vapes could help save the NHS millions.
Read the article here: NHS would save more than £500m a year if half of England’s adult smokers vaped instead.
As you can imagine this has made many news sources including the Daily Mail and Independent websites.
Unfortunately to read the full article you will have to pay – but if you are interested it is here.
Study
The article is written by Prof Francesco Moscone who is a business economics expert at Brunel.
The study aims to assess potential savings to the NHS if smokers in England switched to RRP’s (Reduced Risk Products). RRP’s are classed as e-cigarettes or vaping products.
He says…
“Cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema are the five main disease categories caused by smoking cigarettes. Such illnesses put significant burdens on the NHS, which we know is already under increasing pressure,”
“Although the long-term effects of RRP’s are still unknown, we know from previous research that alternatives to traditional cigarettes result in a 90% reduction in the exposure to chemicals that are major contributors to health risks.”
He calculated that a smoker swapping smoking for vaping would have a 70% reduction in diseases caused by smoking. This is due to the lack of harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.
“Under a 50% conversion scenario, with half of smokers turning to RRPs, the NHS would save an estimated £518 million in an average year. If the conversion rate was just 10%, the NHS would save £103 million,”
“If smokers transitioned to RRPs, it would significantly reduce the pressure on the NHS and free up much-needed hospital resources for other treatments.”
The study also highlighted differences between regions with the North East and Yorkshire having double the number of people with Lung Cancer compared to the rest of England.
The North East and Yorkshire face significant smoke-related health challenges. According to the article…
“lung cancer treatment alone costing the NHS more than £156 million a year, and would therefore see the biggest reduction in savings if smokers switched to RRP’s.”
Apparently if 10% of smokers in these areas switched to vapes the NHS could save £148 million!
Also the document covers the fact that the UK is not on track to meet the Smoke-free 2030 goal – something that Cancer Research UK reported on in January 2023.
Concluding Prof Moscone said…
“Embracing the transition to RRPs would not only save the NHS millions of pounds, but it would present a crucial opportunity for us to regain momentum and align with our ambitious 2030 plan,”
“By embracing innovation and recognising the potential of RRP’s, we can chart a course towards a future with reduced risks while remaining resolute in our commitment to achieving our goals.”
Related Tweets
UK [NHS Study Shows That If Half Of Smokers Switched To Vaping, It Would Save Health Care System Well Over Half A Billion Pounds A Year] – The study suggests hospital admissions would reduce by 13 per cent, translating to savings of £518m.https://t.co/lZRH9dozfh
— Dimitris 🇬🇷 🇺🇸 (@VapinGreek) August 7, 2023
Switching to vapes “could save NHS more than half a billion a year”, study says. 🇬🇧https://t.co/NSMC1xBABI
— SCOHRE (@SCOHREOrg) August 7, 2023
A study shows that hospital admissions would drop by 13 per cent if half of all smokers made the switch to e-cigarettes https://t.co/kmBnf4UIqP
— Evening Standard (@EveningStandard) August 7, 2023
“If 50% of smokers switched to vaping, hospital admissions would fall by 13%…” https://t.co/0XYii1s0QI
— Charles A. Gardner, PhD (@ChaunceyGardner) August 7, 2023
A study has claimed the NHS could save more than £500 million per year if half of England’s adult smokers switched to e-cigarettes.https://t.co/BlLXxRlGg0
— Metro (@MetroUK) August 7, 2023
New research from @Bruneluni‘s Prof Francesco Moscone (@MosconeF) published in the British Journal of Healthcare Management suggests that if half of England’s smokers made the switch to #vaping, the National Health Service would save over £500m annually. https://t.co/u8K7jaWhaX
— The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (@GlobalStateTHR) August 7, 2023
NHS would save more than £500m a year if half of England’s adult smokers vaped instead https://t.co/mhR3onNeAP
— Michael Landl (@LandlMichael) August 8, 2023
Actual UK healthcare cost savings from smokers switching to vaping are likely to be much greater than estimated here as assumptions are (appropriately) very conservative https://t.co/ydJk6YElNC
— Alex Wodak AM #Vote YES (@AlexWodak) August 8, 2023
“NHS would save more than £500m a year if half of England’s adult smokers vaped instead”
Imagine what this could mean for South Africa’s failing public healthcare system if @HealthZA @ParliamentofRSA understood the benefits of tobacco harm reduction!https://t.co/mBjZ1uv0IC— Kurt Yeo (@Kurt_Yeo) August 8, 2023
The @Bruneluni report reveals that the @NHSEngland could save £500m+ annually if half of England’s adult smokers switched to reduced risk products like vaping.
2/4
— UKVIA (@Vaping_Industry) August 8, 2023
It estimated the @NHSEngland could potentially save £140m in annual costs, based on 2020 data, if 10% of smokers switched and £698 annually if half of smokers switched.
— UKVIA (@Vaping_Industry) August 8, 2023
“Although smoking costs the NHS well over £2 billion a year, the biggest benefit [will be] in reductions in spending on social security and social care due to smoking, which together amount to more than double the cost of smoking to the NHS.”https://t.co/5XOZ76ihPx
— ASH (@AshOrgUK) August 8, 2023
🗞️ More news out of the #UK showing how far behind our neighbours we’ve fallen. A new study by @Bruneluni found that the NHS could save £500m/year if half of England’s smokers vaped instead due to a 70% reduction in smoking-related disease. The evidence keeps pouring in 👏…
— Respect Vapers (@RespectVapers) August 9, 2023
