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<p>Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom,
and causes around one in four UK cancer deaths. It also costs our country £21.8 billion
a year, and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. The latest estimates
from Action on Smoking and Health put the cost of smoking to the NHS at £1.9 billion
a year.</p><p>All tobacco products are harmful. Tobacco smoke from cigars leads to
the same types of diseases as cigarette smoke. Research has shown that using smokeless
tobacco raises the risk of both mouth and oesophageal cancer. Data from the Office
for Health Improvement and Disparities’ Smoking Profile showed that in 2019/20 there
were an estimated 448,031 smoking attributable hospital admissions, but we cannot
differentiate by the type of tobacco.</p><p>As such, the Department does not hold
data on the annual costs to the NHS of cigar smoking and snuff taking, nor data on
the number of hospital admissions for issues related to cigar smoking or snuff taking
in the last 12 months, five years, or 20 years.</p>
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