Smoking costs around £95M worth of public money in Bolton every year, a report has found. This comes with Bolton Council set to consider a new contract to deliver local stop smoking services across the borough. A report put before the authority said that this costs the public purse staggering amounts of money in health and social care costs.
Bolton Council cabinet member for adults, health and wellbeing Cllr Sean Fielding said: “You’d be hard pressed to find anybody who disagrees that smoking is bad. “It’s bad for your health, the health of others around you, your finances, and at an additional cost of £95M, the finances of our public services. Bolton Council will decide whether or not to approve the report (Image: Newsquest) “Kicking the habit is easier said than done though, but fortunately the council commissions are range of support services to help people to stop.
“I’d encourage all smokers to think about quitting and access support if they need it, the benefits of stopping start within just a few days.” The report put before Cllr Fielding and the council officers said that Bolton had a higher-than-average rate of smoking compared to the rest of the North West and the rest of the country. It found that in 2022 there were around 42,444 adult smokers coming to around 14.
2 per cent of the population. This compared to a North West average of 13.4 per cent and an average across England of 12.
7 per cent. The report came to the £95M figure by estimating the c.