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Cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could hit £86bn by 2050
The cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could rise to £86bn a year by 2050, prompting calls for a crackdown on alcohol, junk food and smoking.
The ageing population means the annual cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke combined will go from the £51.9bn recorded in 2018 to £85.6bn in 2050 – a rise of 61%. The four conditions together account for 59% of all deaths and result in 5.1m years of life lost.
Experts say the findings, published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal, show that the new government must take determined action to improve the population’s health in order to stop the costs of ill-health becoming overwhelming.
Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “These projected costs should terrify the Treasury.”
As the number of over-65s increases in the coming years, the cost of dementia alone will double to £23.5bn, and the financial impact of strokes would rise by 85% to £16bn, the research found.
Similarly, the cost of heart disease would increase by 54% to £19.6bn and that of cancer – which is the costliest of the four conditions – by 40% to £26.5bn.
The estimates cover their overall economic costs, through lost productivity and relatives providing informal care, rather than just the money the NHS and social care systems spend on them.
A big rise in the amount of physical activity people undertook could improve health, reduce the burden of illness and limit the associated costs of that, he said. Devoting more resources to primary care, including GP services, would boost the earlier detection of cancer and reduce the cost of treatment.
Cancer Research UK has estimated that the number of new cancer diagnoses a year is likely to rise from 420,000 now to 506,000 by 2040. The number of people diagnosed with any form of dementia is also due to increase significantly.
The biggest rise by 2050 will be in the social care costs of looking after people with the four conditions. It is due to increase by 110% to £13.5bn a year for dementia, by 109% to £7.1bn for stroke, by 91% to £4.4bn for heart disease and by 88% to £2.9bn for cancer.
McKee called for a crackdown on the industries that produce cigarettes, alcohol and unhealthy foods, and a renewed assault on poverty. “For over a decade the UK has been competing with the United States for last place among industrialised nations in the health stakes. This paper shows why this cannot continue,” he said.
“If the country is to escape from a doom loop of low productivity, driven to a considerable extent by ill health, and rising demand on the NHS … it must prioritise not just the causes of disease, but the causes of those causes, including high levels of poverty and the actions of industries, like alcohol, tobacco, and junk food, that profit from this misery.”
Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2024
See also: Filipa Landeiro, DPhil, Callum Harris, MA BMBCH, David Groves, MSc, Samuel O’Neill, MBBS, Kuljinder Singh Jandu, MBChB, Eliana M C Tacconi, DPhil et al. The economic burden of cancer, coronary heart disease, dementia, and stroke in England in 2018, with projection to 2050: an evaluation of two cohort studies. The Lancet. 2024
Cancer Research UK - Cancer incidence for all cancers combined
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Thousands of illegal vapes and cigarettes seized
Thousands of illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco products have been seized from shops across Wolverhampton.
Following a string of complaints, officers said they found 2,280 illicit cigarettes hidden under a floor in one of the raided stores.
They also uncovered 8.1kg (17.9lbs) of banned oral tobacco and snus - a tobacco product in a sachet - and an estimated 550 illicit vapes. The city council said an investigation to find the suppliers was underway.
The retail value of the vapes seized was estimated to £8,260, the cigarettes about £1,745 and the duty not paid on the cigarettes and oral tobacco would come to more than £2,900, the City of Wolverhampton Council said.
Action was set to be taken against the owners of premises where the material was seized, they added.
Source: BBC News, 25 July 2024
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Harm from problem gambling in Great Britain ‘may be eight times higher than thought’
The scale of harm caused by gambling in Great Britain could be eight times higher than thought, according to the largest ever survey of the impact of the industry, piling pressure on ministers to enact promised gambling reforms.
An estimated 2.5% of adults have struggled with “problem gambling”, according to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), which questioned almost 10,000 people.
This would equate to 1.3 million problem gamblers, though the report’s authors cautioned there was a risk that the data could be an overestimate.
The latest research found that, among those who had gambled in the last year, more than one in 40 experienced severe harm to their life, such as turning to crime to finance gambling, experiencing a relationship breakdown, or losing their home.
Among men and young people, the rates were even higher. More than one in 20 of those aged 18-34 who had gambled in the last 12 months reported a severe impact on their life. Among men, 1.9% experienced a relationship breakdown, 1.9% lost something of significant financial value, such as a home, business or car, and 1.6% experienced violence or abuse. More than one in 10 of those who responded to the survey said they had considered suicide and, of these, 4.9% said this was related to their gambling either a little or a lot.
Dr Matt Gaskell, a consultant psychologist who heads the NHS Northern Gambling Service, said that behind the latest data were “persistent and consistent stories of people exploited and harmed by the industry and the devastating impact on families, including children”. “Fundamental change” was needed “across the board” to tackle the problem, he tweeted.
The new gambling minister, Fiona Twycross, was appointed this week. Government insiders said they would take a sensible approach to the need to reduce harm, while recognising that many people gamble responsibly.
Charles Ritchie, from the charity Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said: “These figures show what many of us already knew: that the harms caused by gambling have been massively underestimated, with millions of people in the UK affected. The number of people that have considered or attempted to take their own lives confirms the appalling scale of suicides happening now.”
Ritchie, who set up the charity with his partner, Liz, after their son Jack killed himself at the age of 24 having become addicted to gambling in sixth form, said: “Now legislation needs to catch up with this reality. The new government must immediately bring in a statutory levy on gambling industry profits to pay for vital prevention and treatment, and take measures to restrict gambling advertising.”
Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2024
See also: Gambling Commission - Statistics on gambling participation – Annual report Year 1 (2023): Official statistics
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Jim Dickson Maiden Speech
On 24th July, Jim Dickson, Labour MP for Dartford, former cabinet member for health in Lambeth council and former Chair of the London Smokefree Councillor Network, gave his maiden speech to Parliament.
Dickson expressed his support for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Dickson stated:
“I am particularly supportive of [the government’s] decision to retain the Bill proposed by the last Government to prevent all those born after 2009 from starting smoking. In Dartford, nearly 10,000 people—almost 12% of the population—smoke, with resulting health and care costs of more than £24 million a year according to Action on Smoking and Health, and of course, tragically, many early deaths. When it comes to smoking, it is vital that we stop the start.”
Source: Hansard, 24th July 2024
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Bob Blackman highlights support for Tobacco and Vapes Bill
On 23rd July, Bob Blackman MP, former Chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health expressed support for the government’s decision to bring back the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
“I was absolutely delighted to hear that [the government] will continue with the tobacco and vapes Bill, which, as many colleagues will know, I have championed through Parliament on many occasions. We had reached the end of its Committee stage, which you will remember, Mr Deputy Speaker, but we did not progress the Bill afterwards. I hope that it will be introduced rapidly, and that we can get it on to the statute book as fast as possible.”
Source: Hansard, 23rd July
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Blog: Mission possible? The government’s overarching goal for reducing inequalities in healthy life expectancy
Writing for the Kings Fund, David Buck, Senior Fellow, Public Health and Inequalities at The King's Fund discusses the renewed energy and optimism in health policy, specifically the Labour Party's commitment to tackling health inequalities as stated in their manifesto.
Buck advocates for the need to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy (HLE) between the richest and poorest regions in England, addressing social determinants of health, and emphasizing regional approaches. This includes addressing economic and social factors influencing health, aligning health policy with regional economic development and devolution.
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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