According to Cancer Research, ending smoking in England could free up 75,000 GP appointments each month:
Ahead of next week's spring budget, the UK's largest cancer charity is calling on the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, to reduce pressures on the NHS and provide a boost to the UK economy, by taking swift action on tobacco control.
Measures that should be adopted include a consultation on raising the age of sale of tobacco, as well as more funding to help people quit. If government can’t pay for this, then ministers should introduce a ‘polluter pays’ style charge on the tobacco industry.
Sky News has the story here (Raising legal age of tobacco sales 'could free up 75,000 GP appointments per month', says charity).
It includes the quote I gave the Press Association yesterday:
"It isn't the government's job to end smoking.
“Over the past decade smoking rates have fallen significantly not because of taxpayer-funded anti-smoking campaigns or stop-smoking services, but because millions of smokers have switched to reduced-risk products such as e-cigarettes.
"Government interventions, like plain packaging, have generally had very little impact."
Meanwhile, if you're wondering where the 75,000 figure comes from, the PA has this explanation:
The charity’s analysis is based on GP appointment data and a 2018 study which found that people who do not smoke see their GP 12% less than those who do.
I haven't read the study but if they're suggesting that every smoker who has an appointment with a doctor is there to address some smoking-related issue – well, that's a huge assumption. Smokers have non-smoking related ailments too!
It also ignores the fact that most smoking-related illnesses can be caused by a number of factors so it's ridiculously simplistic to suggest that 'ending smoking' might 'free up' 75,000 GP appointments a month.
But even if it did, should we then forcibly end obesity to free up thousands more GP appointments?
Meanwhile the single largest group of people taking up GPs’ time is almost certainly the elderly. Perhaps we should get rid of them too? Think of all the appointments that would ‘free up’.
My own view, for what's worth, is that because the majority of smokers come from poorer backgrounds it's quite possible that poverty, stress and poor diet are equally if not more responsible for many of those GP appointments.
As ever however it's easier to target smokers, and smoking.
PS. I'll be discussing the CRUK story on GB News later this morning.