§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount spent on smoking cessation initiatives for(a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97 devoted to (i) visits by primary health care professionals and (ii) prescriptions; and what are the estimated figures for 1997–98. [17854]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 1 December 1997]: Information on the amount of expenditure specifically on smoking cessation initiatives devoted to visits by primary health care professionals is not held centrally. Similarly, 214W there is no information available on the amount spent on prescriptions in respect of smoking cessation. In terms of Schedule 10 of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995, substances such as nicotine replacements cannot be supplied by general medical practitioners or prescribed for supply under pharmaceutical services. All such products have to be purchased over the counter.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent research his Department has evaluated on(a) the total cost to the National Health Service in Scotland of treating people with smoking-related diseases and (b) the prevalence of smoking-related diseases among the Scottish population broken down by (i) sex, (ii) age, (iii) socio-economic class and (iv) health board area. [17856]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 1 December 1997]: The most recent national research study on smoking related diseases was the 1991 Report, "The Smoking Epidemic—Counting the Cost in Scotland", a publication produced jointly by HEBS and ASH (Scotland). It estimated that the costs to the NHS in Scotland were approximately £69 million per year. There was no breakdown of this figure by sex, age, socio-economic class or health board area. The prevalence of all diseases in Scotland is monitored by routine ongoing surveillance rather than by specific research projects.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total amount spent on smoking cessation initiatives for(a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97; and what are the projected figures for 1997–98, broken down by health board. [17853]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 1 December 1997]: The information requested is detailed in the tables below. This includes expenditure by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) and the annual grant provided by The Scottish Office to ASH (Scotland) for the same period.
Expenditure on smoking cessation initiatives £000s Organisation 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 HEBS 748 672 1 585 ASH (Scotland) 73 88.9 88.9 Total 821 760.9 673.9 1 Projected.
215W
Estimated spend by health board health promotion departments on smoking initiatives1 Health board 1995–96 £
1996–97 £
Projected 1997–98 £
Argyll and Clyde 45,000 45,000 45,000 Ayrshier and Arran 88,500 96,500 96,500 Borders 47,895 49,330 50,809 Dumfries and Galloway 66,030 95,994 82,808 Fife 18,600 12,000 8,200 Forth Valley 90,989 95,673 101,698 Grampian 143,000 181,000 209,000 Greater Glasgow 70,000 70,000 130,000 Highland 25,000 30,000 37,000 Lanarkshire 44,000 35,000 58,250 Lothian 84,000 106,000 103,000 Orkney 3,415 2,775 3,115
Estimated spend by health board health promotion departments on smoking initiatives1 Health board 1995–96 £
1996–97 £
Projected 1997–98 £
Shetland 4,490 2,540 2,610 Tayside 102,000 105.000 114,000 Western Isles 33,000 35,000 37,000 Total 865,919 961,812 1,078,990 1 This does not include work on smoking being carried out in health boards by other professionals including GPs, health visitors, psychologists etc.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current estimated cost to the NHS in Scotland of treating people with smoking-related diseases(a) in total and (b) by health board. [17855]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 1 December 1997]: There is no simple classification of diseases into those which are smoking related and those which are not. Smoking is only one of several causative factors in many diseases. In 1991, the ASH (Scotland)/HEBS publication "The Smoking Epidemic—Counting the Cost in Scotland" estimated that the NHS costs of treating smoking related diseases were of the order of £69 million per year. A more recent study, commissioned by ASH (Scotland) in 1994, estimated an annual cost to the NHS in Scotland of £83 million. No information is held centrally on the breakdown of these figures by health board area.