Health problems in over-50s caused by smoking will cost local authorities in Kent more than £42 million in social care charges this year.

Analysis by public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has revealed the huge costs involved in meeting the needs of people suffering from smoking-related illness.

Medway was the area where the most has been spent on caring for those aged 50-plus who were smokers during 2021 – some £5.59m.

Swale, Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe and Ashford have all seen more than £4m in each district spent on care for those who have fallen ill due to smoking.

The lowest amounts have been spent in Dartford (£1.3m), Gravesham (£1.59m) and Sevenoaks (£1.67m).

In Kent, it is estimated 2,642 over-50s receive state-funded care in their own homes due to ailments caused by smoking, while 544 people are in residential care for that reason. When combined with Medway, the total cost of care is £42.59m.

Medway has 399 over-50s receiving home-based smoking-linked social care, while 82 people are in residential care.

The cost of care, according to ASH, is even greater when you factor in the value of what is provided for people by their family and friends who are looking after them.

It is estimated that in Kent about 34,040 people receive unpaid care for smoking-attributable needs, worth £253m a year.

The charity says the equivalent figure for Medway, where 5,151 people are being looked after by loved ones, would be more than £38m annually.

ASH says smoking is the leading cause of premature death in England, killing 74,600 people in 2019.

However, it is also a leading cause of preventable illness – for every person killed by smoking, at least another 30 are estimated to be living with serious smoking-related disease and disability.

Deborah Arnott, ASH chief executive, said: “Smoking has a devastating impact on our communities far beyond the tens of thousands of lives it takes every year.

"It profoundly undermines the quality of many people’s lives, often placing heavy demands on family and friends.

“Securing the government’s vision of a smokefree country by 2030 will make all the difference.

"It will ease pressure on the social care system and build resilience in our communities, enabling people to live longer, healthier lives."

Ms Arnott called on the government to provide more cash to councils to cover the cost of social care for smokers.

"ASH backs calls on the government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers to pay for the support needed to end smoking in this country...”

“Local authorities have a key role to play in ending smoking, but they cannot do it without additional funding," she added.

"ASH backs calls on the government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers to pay for the support needed to end smoking in this country.”

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