The shocking impact of the Addiction Economy on Society
Great infographic from Joe Woof on how companies take the money and the harms are inflicted on, and paid for, by the rest of us.
The total UK sales of 4 of the main addiction economy companies are £210billion, but the costs of these products to society is £219.3billion.
The total costs to society are broken down into
NHS costs
Social, informal and unmet care costs
Loss of productivity
Quality Adjusted Life Years calculations
The research was taken from two new reports - Holding Us Back - tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and drink, from the Obesity Health Alliance, Alcohol Health Alliance and Action on Smoking and Health (UK).
The Economic and Social Cost of Harms Associated with Gambling in England Evidence from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities update 2023
We also considered Unhealthy Numbers: The Rising Cost of Obesity in the UK from the Tony Blair Institute which supported this correlation.
We can see currently at the battle Rishi Sunak is having to make cigarettes illegal when the costs of smoking to society are so astonishingly high and their benefit to society is zero.
Lots more to do. Please do email hilary@societyinside.com with any other research or thoughts on prevention, levies, political initiatives that are working around the world.
