HL Deb 18 December 1997 vol 584 c105WA
Lord Stoddart of Swindon

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer given by Baroness Jay of Paddington on 3 December (WA 197), what is the actual, rather than the estimated, cost of smokers to the National Health Service.

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The actual cost is not available. The methodology used by the Health Education Authority, in estimating the cost to the National Health Service of treating smoking-related disease of £1.4 and £1.7 billion per annum, has been constructed on evidence from several previous studies on the diseases that are attributable to smoking and the relevant risks of current smokers requiring NHS treatment for smoking-related disease.