Yahoo Finance A third of local authorities overspend on stop smoking services
Almost a third of local authorities in England overspend on NHS Stop Smoking services, according to the latest NHS Digitial report.
Retailer Vapourpore looked into the report to find which local authorities spent the most on NHS Stop Smoking services between April and December 2018, as well as the cost per quitter — emphasising just how much regional authorities are prepared to help Brits ditch the habit.
Vapourcore found that the average total expenditure from each 152 local authority was £329,762. This includes the cost of training, sub-contracting, salaries and overheads, and pharmacotherapies issued as part of the service, as well as money spent on marketing.
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But almost 30% of these authorities spent far above average, according to Vapourpore.
The local authority of Hampshire spent the most on stop smoking services at £1.7m. The cost per individual quitter in Hampshire came to £856.
South Tyneside (£659,462), Nottinghamshire (£684,548), Cambridgeshire (£716,727), Lincolnshire (£935,538), Essex (£965,538), Norfolk (£1.1m), Kent (£1.3m), County Durham (£1.4m), and Lancashire (£1.6m) follow closely behind.
The Isles of Scilly, on the other hand, spent a mere £586, with five people having reported to have successfully quit smoking.
Havering (£10,088), Rutland (£16,027), Herefordshire (£27,179), Windsor and Maidenhead (£30,000), Thurrock (£30,224), Newham (£38,112), Blackpool (£43,419), Worcestershire (£44,092), and Derby (£53,500) follow at the low end.
Vapourcore also analysed the expenditure of stop smoking services in comparison to the number of people who successfully quit. Those recorded as having successfully quit smoking were self-reported, and clients were counted as having successfully quit smoking after two weeks.
North Lincolnshire had the highest cost per individual quitter, with £3,516 per each of the 69 self-reported quitters.
City of London (£1,427 per 150 quitters), Buckinghamshire (£1,280 per 278 quitters), Southwark (£1,291 per 256 quitters), and Stockport (£1,371 per 321 quitters) rounded out the five councils that spent the most per quitter.
Derby, on the other hand, spent the least amount of money per individual quitter, at just £61 per person.
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Thurrock (£87 per the 348 quitters), Wiltshire (£89 per the 655 quitters), Isles of Scilly (£117 per the 5 quitters), and Croydon (£137 per each of the 530 quitters) also spent relatively little per quitter.
