£44.8 billion goes up in smoke each year as cost of smoking to society in England revealed

New figures released ahead of World No Tobacco Day reveal that the total cost of smoking to society in England is an estimated £44.8 billion.

Published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the figures highlight the significant economic and social impact of smoking across England, underlining the substantial burden it places on individuals, communities, public services and the wider economy. The £44.8 billion total is made up of:

• Around £27.8 billion in lost productivity costs 
• £14.8 billion in social care costs 
• £1.8 billion in healthcare costs 
• £383 million in costs linked to fires caused by smoking 

In contrast revenue from tobacco taxation only raises around £7.5 billion a year.[1]

The new costs come as the charity’s annual public opinion survey shows strong public support for action to address smoking, with 67% of adults in England supporting a goal to make Britain a country where no one smokes.

Action on Smoking and Health said the figures highlight the need for sustained action to reduce smoking rates and help more people quit. The charity is calling on the Government to publish a comprehensive national tobacco control strategy aimed at accelerating progress, including setting a target of two million fewer people smoking by the end of this Parliament.

ASH is also urging ministers to protect existing tobacco control funding, including investment in NHS stop smoking services and mass media campaigns, and to increase spending to around £310 million a year so smokers can access the practical support they need to quit. The charity says the additional costs should be funded through a new levy on the tobacco industry, supported by 77% of people in England.

ASH Chief Executive, Hazel Cheeseman said:

“Reducing smoking rates would not only ease pressure on the NHS and boost productivity, it would also improve the lives of millions of people and families affected by smoking. Too many communities, particularly those in areas of high deprivation, where smoking rates are highest, continue to bear the greatest health and financial burden, while the tobacco industry remains the only real beneficiary of people continuing to smoke.

“A levy on tobacco companies could help bring forward a smokefree future while funding the practical support people need to quit for good.”

Almost two thirds of the costs of smoking (62%) come from lost productivity, with smoking negatively impacting earnings and employment prospects. A third (33%) of the cost is due to social care, with people who smoke requiring more care in later life as the result of smoking relating in illness. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK, causing around 80,000 deaths each year[2] and harming nearly every organ of the body.

ENDS

Contact: press@ash.org.uk

Notes to editors:

• Data is from ASH’s Ready Reckoner data tool
• England estimates are derived from work by Howard Reed, based on the average of modelled estimates for 2022, 2023 and 2024 rather than the most recent year alone, as in previous years. The costs are uprated to their 2025 equivalents. For detail about how these national figures were derived see the CBPF model. CBPF model.
• National smoking prevalence data are derived from the Annual Population Survey averaged across 2022-2024. These are used together with the England estimates to derive estimates for a given geography. All figures are approximate, and shown to three figures of accuracy. For full documentation, see Ready Reckoner Methods ASH May 2026
• Public support figures are from the 2026 ASH Adult survey conducted by YouGov. Total sample size is 13,259 adults in GB, including 11,018 adults in England who are reported here. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18/02/2026 - 19/03/2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults (aged 18+).

[1] HMRC (2026). HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK (annual bulletin).

[2] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global Burden Study of Disease, 2023, United Kingdom