Nearly 460,000 people in the UK are unemployed due to the health impact of tobacco, alcohol, and obesity, costing the economy £31.1bn.
A new study, commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), the Obesity Health Alliance, and the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), highlights the impact of smoking, alcohol, and obesity on employment and the economy.
The analysis shows that 289,000 people are not working due to poor health caused by smoking. Nearly 100,000 are unemployed because of illness caused by alcohol, and 70,000 are unemployed because of weight-related health conditions.
Prof Linda Bauld, professor of Public Health University of Edinburgh and chair of the report steering group, said: ‘There is a clear role for Government in reducing the consumption of products which harm health and the economy and this fits with the Government’s own vision for improving public health.
‘However, in practice with the exception of tobacco, action has been slow and concentrated not on what businesses do to increase consumption but on what individuals can do to resist temptation. This balance needs to be reset and industry activity must be regulated to protect the health of the public.’
