Can a doctor refuse to treat a smoker?

Physicians are discouraged from refusing treatment simply because they disagree with their patients’ decisions or lifestyles. The authors contend that active smoking is not an appropriate basis for refusal of therapeutic treatment.

How much does it cost the NHS to treat smokers?

The government spends £3.6 billion treating smoking-attributable diseases on the NHS and up to £1 billion collecting cigarette butts and extinguishing smoking-related house fires. But these costs are covered more than four times over by early death savings and tobacco duty revenue.

How does smoking affect the NHS?

Mutations (changes in your cell DNA) are how cancers start. It is estimated that smoking related health issues are costing the NHS approximately £6 billion per year in hospital admissions, GP consultations and prescriptions, as well as any operations or other treatments needed for smoking-related diseases.

Does smoking save the NHS money?

Putting ambition into action Interventions to support smokers to quit save money – smokers that manage to give up reduce their lifetime cost to the NHS and social care by almost 50\%.

Do doctors discriminate against smokers?

Some health care providers’ refusal to treat smokers is evidence-based: the medical evidence shows that smokers who undergo certain medical procedures experience poorer outcomes, such as respiratory and cardiac complications, compared with non-smokers.

How much does smoking cost the NHS UK?

The cost of smoking to the UK Government is approximately £12.6 billion a year, made up of £1.4 billion spent on social care for smoking related care needs, £2.5 billion spent on NHS services and £8.6 billion of lost productivity in businesses*.

How much does the average smoker smoke UK?

On average, smokers smoke 20 cigarettes a day; with a packet of cigarettes costing £13.30 that’s a spend of £93.10 per week, or £4,841.20 per year.