New figures released ahead of World No Tobacco Day reveal that the total cost of smoking to society in South East England is an estimated £6.8 billion.
Published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the figures highlight the significant economic and social impact of smoking across the region, underlining the substantial burden it places on individuals, communities, public services and the wider economy.
The £6.8 billion total is made up of:
- Around £4.26 billion in lost productivity costs
- £2.2 billion in social care costs
- £268 million in healthcare costs
- £57 million in costs linked to fires caused by smoking
In contrast revenue from tobacco taxation only raises around £1.12 billion a year for the South East. The new costs come as the charities annual public opinion survey shows public support for action to address smoking remains high with 67% supporting a goal to make Britain a country where no one smokes.
Ahead of World Tobacco Day on 31st May, 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 smokers 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, which has the support of 77% of people in England.
One organisation already leading campaigns is South East Smokefree Alliance (SESA) who represent 18 local authorities across the region. The campaign “Quit Smoking, Feel Happier” which ran in early 2026 is estimated to have helped tens of thousands of people who smoke to take steps toward quitting by explaining how nicotine addiction affects the brain, stress and mental wellbeing.
Dr Sarah Milne, South East Smokefree Alliance Lead, said:
“Reducing smoking rates in the South East would not only lessen pressure on the NHS and improve productivity, but also significantly enhance the wellbeing of millions of people and families impacted by smoking.
In the South East we see that communities in the most deprived areas continue to face the greatest health and financial harms from smoking, while tobacco companies are the main beneficiaries of continued tobacco use.”
ASH Chief Executive, Hazel Cheeseman said:
“A levy on tobacco companies could help bring forward a smokefree future while funding the practical support people need to quit for good.”
The biggest proportion of costs from smoking (62%) comes from lost productivity as smoking negatively affects earnings and employment prospects. 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[1] and harming nearly every organ of the body.
Anyone living in the South East can access free stop smoking support or request a callback from local services at www.quittogetherlivebetter.com
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+).
The South East Smokefree Alliance (SESA) represents 18 local authorities: Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Medway, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham.
There are at least 846,787 adults who smoke across the South East — 10.6% of the population.
Smoking causes around 9,500 deaths each year in the region and is responsible for over 55,000 hospital admissions annually.
Smokers are 2.5 times more likely to need social care and on average need it 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
The Alliance’s goal is to make the South East smokefree by 2030 (fewer than 5% of adults smoking).
[1] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global Burden Study of Disease, 2023, United Kingdom