Policy brief: Reducing NHS Costs Associated with Smoking – Professor Francesco Moscone

"In a scenario where 10% of smokers transition to reduced-risk products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, assuming a 70% risk reduction for smoking-related diseases, a 2.6% decrease in total admissions and a 2.5%reduction in health expenditure for specific diseases were estimated. These modest reductions would yield savings exceeding £103 million", writes Professor Francesco Moscone in a policy brief, entitled Reducing NHS Costs Associated with Smoking. 

Key recommendations:

• Implementation of alternative innovative products for risk reduction. 
• Creating an incentive program to promote smoking reduction. 
• Local policy: Greatest overall benefit will be derived from focussing attention on regions with highest rates of smoking
• Commissioning research: A crucial assumption in the literature posits that the decrease in risk associated with switching to reduced-risk products is linked to a reduction in exposure to chemicals. 
• Generational Sales Ban: The Generational Sales Ban should exclude e-cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Product alternatives

Read the full policy brief here.