Telford smoking cessation clinic risks a £400,000 bill
Monday 14th November 2011, 12:18AM GMT.
Services to help people in Telford stop smoking have proved so successful that health bosses could eventually find themselves facing a bill of £400,000.
So many people are signing up for help in quitting that NHS Telford and Wrekin’s stop smoking scheme has already gone over budget by more than £48,000 and it could rise. But the trust is still struggling to get pregnant women to give up the habit.
In his report to this week’s meeting of the trust board, managing director Dr Leigh Griffin said the ‘continuing difficulties’ posed by smoking in pregnancy was one of the challenges facing the organisation.
He said about a quarter of pregnant women in the area continued to smoke .
“It’s strange,” he said. “Overall, we’re very successful in helping people to stop. People have come forward and we have been able to help, but within that success we do have a real challenge in helping pregnant women to stop.”
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typical public sector over spending and cant get its budgets in line, sack them all
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Typical crass comment from Blue Baby
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This clinic, although very laudable in its aims, would be unnecessary if the price of cigarettes was raised to £100 per packet, and the evil habit stamped out for good.
It’s a curious thing but out of the young girls at work, 85% of them smoke. I am assuming from this that they are all well off financially, immune from dying of smoking related diseases, and make up the ‘smoking break’ time after hours. Oh look … there goes a pig.
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Years ago when I was a apprentice one of the men said to me just before the budget” If the price goes up to 5/- for 20 [25p] I will give them up” but he never did, and he did not reach retirement.
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I used this service a few weeks back and i’ve been able to quit after they gave me the Zyban.
My taxes well spent!
As for the pregnancy comment, I can quite believe it. I was at the Shrewsbury Hospital Maternity Ward a fortnight ago and the constant flow of young pregnant girls sloping off to the smoking shelter was a very disturbing sight to see.
That they care more about smoking than their unborn child just shows how bad society has become
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Well well, another Propaganda article, the Fact is smoking rates are Not coming down in the country, in fact they are going Up, so much for these anti smoking success “claims”.For years now the Taxpayer has paid for these campaigns and the truth is they have Failed,when are they going to learn that Lifestyle Choice is just that, Choice,if you choose not to smoke,fine,if you choose to smoke,fine,it’s about Personal choice,bringing in “laws” or other pressures to stop people doing something that you may not like is Not welcome in a Free country hence the smoking figures we see. Time for Tolerance and common sense to be shown.
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Second hand smoke is not a choice and neither is the increased cost to the NHS for treating smoking-related diseases – a cost which is borne by every taxpayer and not out of choice.
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All very well, but the ‘success’ will be based on 4 week figures. In truth, around 98% of quit attempts fail (including multiple attempts by individuals) – these people never seem to want to quote long term success rates, for example after 12 months (about 5%). Average cost for each quit attempt is c. £250 – an almost total waste of NHS funds.
Besides, if smoking cessation clinics are so successful how come overall smoking rates have barely changed these last few years?
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#2. Should we also charge £100 for a pint of beer or a cream cake to reduce the problems caused by these?
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I was going to say “no”, but on reflection it’s not a bad idea. Might see less people clogging A&E on a Saturday night, and obviate the need for emergency vehicles to be fitted with heavy duty stretchers and so on. All in all a good way to improve the nation’s health.
However, I am willing to bet that more NHS cash goes on the bottomless pit of treating those sad people who are unable to break free of nicotime than treating the drunks and fatties.
Any takers for making petrol £100 a litre to cut road congestion? (No, I thought not.)
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Try going to any A&E at week ends and you will see far more suffering under the influence of alcohol.
What about charging everybody £100 for taking part in sports?
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Try going to any hospital any day of the week and you will see far more suffering long-term, debilitating and sometimes terminal diseases caused by smoking.
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Does the taxpayer realise that a ‘success’ is classed as someone who SAYS that they haven’t smoked for 4 weeks.
These people can keep using the service and be classed as successful ‘quitters’ many times over.
This service is costing a fortune and are doing absolutely nothing to reduce smoking rates. In fact the rates are increasing !!
Stop making smoking ‘naughty’ and young people won’t bother taking it up and stop making smokers feel guilty about smoking so that they don’t think that thy HAVE to stop smoking to stay alive and they will stop if and when they want to.
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A work colleague and her husband used to spend £1,000 a month, yes, you read it right, they have now both given up and for once I can actually go home without the wife thinking I’ve been working it a kipper factory.
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It is a Fact that the Tax smokers pay not only pays for their treatment on the NHS but also the treatment of Non smokers, but it does seem that the Intolerance of some people is harder to treat. I have already said that Lifestyle choice is just that, Choice, I have no wish to tell others how to live their lives, but others it seems have no problem doing just that, sad. Time for change.
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Gadzooks! Egad, if I’d thought that tobacco would cause this much fuss, I’d have dumped it overboard on the way back from the New World.
Forsooth! What’s this? Potatoes £6.75 for 20? Giz me a knighthood and I’ll be off out of it. Cover that puddle with me cape? Gerrof!!
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more public money up in smoke helping chavs who should take personally responsibility for their health and their actions
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Who are you calling a chav?
I’m a 42 year old ex serviceman, who has worked all his life. I don’t drive a Corsa with a Big Bore exhaust, have a Staffy that I can’t look after and drink Tennants at 8am every morning.
Yet i found this service very helpful at helping me quit, which I still have done.
I suggest you think before you tar everyone with the same large brush!
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Sack the service, get rid of it all together, and people please just leave smokers alone.
If people wish to smoke, that is their wish, and people stop going on about the amount of money that smokers are costing the taxpayer, when the duty on a packet of cigarettes is huge.
If every smoker in the country gave up, ask yourselves where the government is going to recover the (and i guess) Billions of pounds worth of lost duty.
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The motorist??
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Quite possibly. It would equate to about 2p in the pound on income tax apparently. Let them keep smoking, shut the clinic and the rest of the population won’t have to pay for it.
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