Smoking and mental health - NCSCT

The economic cost of smoking in people with mental disorders 8
Practice nurse consultations
£14 million, 2%
Outpatient attendances
£71 million, 10%
GP prescription
£179 million, 25%
Hospital admissions
£352 million, 49%
GP consultations
£102 million,
14%
Fig 8.2 Breakdown of costs due to smoking-related diseases to the NHS among
people with mental disorders [Figures may not sum to total due to rounding].
people with mental disorders in 2009–10, and their estimated costs. In total, 0.7
million outpatient visits were attributable to smoking among people with mental
disorders, at a cost to the NHS of £71m. The number of GP consultations, nurse
consultations and GP prescriptions attributable to smoking are 3 million, 1
million and 19 million respectively, and generate a total primary care cost of
£295m per year. In contrast to hospital admission costs, these primary care and
outpatient costs were higher for females than for males.
Figure 8.2 summarises the total overall estimated costs to the NHS of diseases
caused by smoking in people with mental disorders. The total was £719m, of
which just under half was the result of inpatient episodes.
8.5 Cost savings from psychotropic drug dose reduction after
smoking cessation
As smoking increases the metabolism of some psychotropic drugs, smoking
cessation can result in appreciable reductions in drug dose requirements (see
© Royal College of Physicians 2013 171