§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the actual or estimated national expenditure during a stated period on the prevention of death or injury caused by cancer attributable to smoking; what are the figures for deaths and casualties due to this cause during the same period; and to what extent he estimates the expenditure has contributed to saving life and damage to health in this period.
§ Mr. MoyleThe prevention of death and illness resulting from all diseases attributable to smoking is the concern of the health professions and of a number of voluntary bodies, notably ASH. The cost of their prevention work cannot be quantified. In the financial year 1977–78, the Health Education Council spent over £240,000 on anti-smoking activities, and about £900,000 on the Better Health Campaign which contains references to the dangers of smoking.
In 1976 in England and Wales there were about 26,000 deaths due to lung cancer among men and women aged 74 or under. More than 20,000 of these deaths can be attributed to cigarette smoking. The hospital in-patient inquiry information for 1975 indicates that, in England and Wales, there were approximately 48,000 spells in hospital for the treatment of lung cancer.
I cannot quantify the extent to which expenditure on prevention contributes to 152W saving life and avoiding damage to health but in recent years the numbers of those who smoke cigarettes, and the number and average "tar" yield of cigarettes sold, has been constantly falling.