As the festive countdown begins, Wales’ leading tobacco control charity, ASH Wales, is urging smokers to quit now and save over £500 for Christmas.

Latest figures from Help Me Quit, Wales’s NHS stop smoking service, show a 20 a-day smoker is now spending on average £280 a month on cigarettes, rising to £3,600 a year.

Research shows household finances in Wales have been hard hit by the pandemic with the Citizens Advice Bureau estimating a £73m arrears on household bills across Wales.

A UK-wide survey last year revealed that people in Wales spend £40 more than their UK counterparts on Christmas, with an average spend of £460 per household.

With just two pay days left before Christmas, ASH Wales CEO Suzanne Cass, said there has never been a better time to quit:

“Smokers often don’t think about how much money they spend on tobacco, quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your finances and your health.

‘Nearly 70% of smokers say they want to quit, we would say that now is the time to take action and save money and cover those extra Christmas costs.”

Covid has put long-term pressure on household finances, halting the amount spent on cigarettes can significantly reduce outgoings not just for Christmas, but in the long run.

Finance firm Aspen Waite Wales say monitoring outgoings is key to financial stability, David Scheeres, CEO of Aspen Waite Wales, said:

”Now, more than ever, we advise people to take a measured approach to their finances, especially while we recover from pandemic in the lead up to Christmas.

“Taking sensible steps to monitor expenditure is not only wise within the winter period, but also throughout the year. If you can improve your finances while also taking steps to improve your health: that can only be a good thing.”

Latest figures from the National Survey of Wales show that people who live in material deprivation are more than twice as likely to smoke as those that don’t (39% vs 15%).

Poorer people in Wales are not only more likely to smoke but can also expect to die around 9 years earlier than those from more affluent areas. Tobacco use is the single biggest cause of these inequalities accounting for more than half of the difference in the risk of premature death between social classes.

Smoking is the biggest cause of avoidable disease and early death in Wales, taking the lives of more than 5,000 people a year. It places a huge burden on an already overstretched NHS in Wales, costing the organisation around £302 million a year.

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References:

NHS Wales Help Me Quit Smoking Calculator: https://www.helpmequit.wales/cost/

Citizens Advice Bureau Report: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Wales/Coronavirus%20Debt%20Wales.pdf

UK-Wide Survey on Christmas Expenditure: https://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/life-and-living/explore/lifestyle/christmas-spending-2020/

National Survey for Wales:  National Survey for Wales: results viewer | GOV.WALES

For further information contact:

Simon Scheeres |Policy & Public Affairs Manager| simon@ashwales.org.uk | 07841 571 516|