Smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness, premature death and health inequalities in Wales. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the costs of smoking across health and social care, productivity and environmental domains, offering robust evidence to support tobacco control policies, target action where the burden is greatest, and accelerate progress towards a smoke-free Wales.
Key highlights of the report:
1) Smoking causes a deep financial burden in Wales with total cost of £1.56 billion annually, including from health and social care, productivity, and environmental impacts.
2) Deprivation and area-related inequalities are a critical driver of the burden of smoking, which in turn increases health inequalities.
3) The cost of smoking in Wales is driven substantially by productivity losses and social care, and it vastly exceeds the revenue generated by tobacco taxation.